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Written by: Nicholas Hyett | Hargreaves Lansdown
Aston Martin reported third quarter revenue of £237.6m, up 92% year-on-year. That reflects a 104% increase in vehicle sales, reaching 1,349 in the quarter with strong growth across all model categories.
Underlying operating losses fell from £69.8m in 2020 to £30.2m this quarter.
Deliveries of the Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar model are expected to start next quarter, with the first customer car already completed.
Aston Martin shares rose 4.5% in early trading.
“Demand for Aston Martins is clearly strong – demonstrated not only by increased sales but also by increased sales prices across its three core models. Increased marketing spend, not least on events associated with the recently launched F1 team and new Bond film, are clearly pounds well spent.
There’s also impressive progress on the cost front, suggesting recent efficiency drives are delivering results. Aston Martin is never going to be a high volume manufacturer, but economies of scale are nonetheless working in its favour – and margins have been helped along further by increased demand for the group’s custom Specials product. If successful the Valkyrie hypercar, due for first deliveries next quarter, should help with both brand image and margins.
However, despite the progress Aston Martin has a long way to go before it’s ticking over nicely. The group remains loss making and while it just about scraped into positive free cash flow during the third quarter, that’s highly dependent on the timing of spending and customer deposits. Living hand to mouth like this is not a good look for a super-luxury brand. As a result net debt has ticked up substantially in the year, bringing with it an increased financial burden.”