Aston Martin has posted a post-tax loss of £24.9 million in the year to December 2012.
According to The Telegraph, the firm posted pre-tax losses of £21.2 million during the previous financial year. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) for Aston Martin in 2012 was £69.3 million.
According to media reports, in documents filed with Companies House, Aston Martin blames its situation on operating in a market that "has been severely affected by recession". The company also believes its earnings were affected by “vehicle launches in the fourth quarter”.
Aston Martin has also recently halted production of the Cygnet, in an effort to focus on its core range of sports cars.
The Financial Times reports that the recently signed deal between Aston Martin and Mercedes' AMG division will ease the costly burden of technology development for the Gaydon-based manufacturer. The deal allows Aston access to AMG resources to develop bespoke V8 powertrains and new architectures.
The deal also heralds the beginning of a new generation of Aston Martin models.
Aston Martin owner The Investment Dar bought the company as part of a consortium from Ford in 2007 for almost £500 million. Former Ducati owners Investindustrial took a 37.5 per cent stake in Aston Martin last December for a reported £150 million.
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Cool doesn't necessarily mean profit!
Looking at peoples' comments, they are comparing the brand's products/target audience with that of Bentley, Rolls-Royce and Range Rover, and the successes these brands are having abroad: but that's missing the point!
Aston Martins are expensive, highly tasteful 'grand touring' cars targeted to selective customers that do not-thank god-have the scalability of these brands-because-on the-whole-they are designed for enthusiasts, not just for prestige statements. The Aston is much closer to a Bugatti Veyron-a terrific car with fantastic attention that also loses money! The DB5, generally quoted as 'the most famous car in the world' in its James Bond guise, only sold around 900 examples world wide, and the firm probably lost money on everyone it made!
Its easy for me to say, but the financial and technical backers of Aston, shouldn't be looking for huge profits from the company, but instead be in business to pay homage to a bespoke, low volume supercar!
In my opinion they should not ramp up volume, but instead reduce it as well as the affordability which will of course reduce profits potentially further. For example, you can pick up a 1995 DB7 for as little as £15k now, whilst a 1981 V8 Vantage will set you back £200k- now which is the better expression of an Aston!
MB
The possibility of an SUV occurred to me, and then I thought about the tie up with MB, that's when it started to make sense........
I think the problem is no one
I think the problem is no one understands the brand, they have umpteen cars that all look the same, have virtually the same engines in various states of tune, they are effectively competing against themselves for sales, the Cygnet was a Joke, they are making vanity projects like the 177, and there just doesn't seem to a product strategy, I hate to say it but they need to take a leaf out of Porches book and build an SUV, its an easy way to return a profit.
Citytiger wrote: I think the
I think you have a point at recognition. Unlike most of its competitors (in price if not in style), most people to refer to Aston Martin as Aston, and not by model name. At least people refer to SLs, Mulsannes and Murcielago. It is very difficult for car buffs to spot the difference i teh current lineup, so what does some clueless rockstar with £150k in his or her back pocket. Also, people don't quite understand their style. They are a bit too small and hard hitting to be true GTs (In the sense of Continentals) but sometimes a bit too soft to be an all out sports car (unlike a top line Porsche or Ferrari). They need to differentiate between their product lines more. I have only seen 1 Rapide (It sounds like a Skoda) and yet countless Panameras.