news

Ferrari shares surge after unexpectedly strong third-quarter performance

Ferrari stock has risen by more than 7 per cent after the Italian car maker announced unexpectedly strong third-quarter earnings and the company's CEO raised doubts over a 100 per cent electric future.


Ferrari's third-quarter 2020 earnings rose by 6.4 per cent to a higher-than-forecast €330 million (or AU$538 million), despite shipments and revenue both falling.

As a result, the prancing horse marque raised its overall expectations for core annual income in 2020 to €1.125 billion, up from its previous estimate of between €1.075-1.125 billion.

The adjustment follows Ferrari shipments slowly recovering from delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with the company citing deliveries of the Monza SP1 and SP2 as the driving force behind the recovery.

"The Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2 continue to be delivered as originally scheduled," the company said in a statement.

"Deliveries of the SF90 Stradale and the Ferrari Roma are on track to start in Q4 2020."

At the same time, Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri reportedly said he did not expect the luxury car maker to ever have a 100 per cent electric propulsion, suggesting its line-up wouldn't even reach 50 per cent electric in his lifetime.

"There should be cost savings with EVs longer-term, but they won't be extravagant... We will get larger improvements from focusing on other parts of our business, including Formula 1," Mr Camilleri, who is 65, said, according to the New York Post.

Previously, Mr Camilleri has said he expects Ferrari's first fully electric model to arrive after 2025.

Despite the boost to core income, Ferrari's third-quarter revenue was down 3 per cent on 2019 and shipments were down 6.5 per cent on last year, the latter attributed to the seven-week production suspension in the wake of the pandemic.

Regardless, the company is still expecting a strong fourth quarter as the SF90 Stradale and Roma start to reach customers.

"Solid proof that we are now running on all cylinders," Mr Camilleri said, according to Reuters. "We’ll enter 2021 with a very strong order book, we should have a pretty strong year.

"Ferrari Q3 volumes were down because of supply, not demand," he added.

Ferrari is expected to announce one more new model before the end of year, after revealing the 2021 Portofino M in September this year.

Locally, Australian sales of Ferrari models were up by 8.7 per cent in September 2020 compared to the same time last year.

Drive
MORE:Ferrari Showroom
MORE:Ferrari News
MORE:Ferrari Reviews
MORE:Search Used Ferrari Cars for Sale
MORE:Ferrari Showroom
MORE:Ferrari News
MORE:Ferrari Reviews
MORE:Search Used Ferrari Cars for Sale
Susannah Guthrie

Susannah Guthrie has been a journalist for over a decade, covering everything from world news to fashion, entertainment, health and now cars. Having previously worked across titles like The New Daily, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, People Magazine and Cosmopolitan, Susannah now relishes testing family cars with the help of her husband and two-year-old son.

Read more about Susannah GuthrieLinkIcon
Chat with us!







Chat with Agent