Aston Martin reports record first-half profit

The Aston Martin DB11 has helped the firm almost double its revenues in the first half of the year, as it seeks to recover from six years of losses.

In the first half of 2017, revenues reached £410.4 million, compared with £211.8m in the same period last year - an increase of 94%.

In the past 12 months, revenues exceeded £750m for the first time in the company’s history.

Aston Martin boss Andy Palmer said the performance “reflects rising demand for the new DB11 model, as well as for special-edition vehicles and the ongoing benefits from our transformation plan”.

Chief financial officer Mark Wilson added: “The strength of our first-half results prove our strategy is on track. We are increasing our baseline guidance for underlying earnings [EBITDA] of £175m on revenues of £830m in 2017.”

In the first half of the year, pre-tax profits were £21.1m, reversing a £82.3m pre-tax loss in the same period in 2016. 

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to £93.0m, up from £19.4m in the first half of 2016. 

The big difference between pre-tax profits of £21.1m and EBITDA of £93.0m is due to "heavy investment in engineering and facilities," an Aston Martin spokesman told Autocar. 

Based on Wilson’s full-year prediction of earnings of £175m, Aston Martin forecasts a slightly slower second half of the year. 

Aston Martin's wholesale units - the number of cars sold to dealers - jumped 67% to 2,439 vehicles in the first half of 2017, thanks to rising orders in the UK, Europe, the Americas and China, said Aston Martin. 

The average selling price per model, excluding special editions, rose 25% to £149,000, driven by the DB11 and customers opting for more options across the line-up.

Alongside the success of the DB11, Aston Martin said there has been “continued strong sales of the V12-powered Vanquish S and Aston Martin Vantage S models coinciding with sell-out success for special-edition vehicles such as the Vanquish Zagato Coupé”.

Aston Martin is heavily investing in its manufacturing facility in St Athan. Building work is already under way, where assembly of the upcoming DBX SUV model is due to start in 2019, creating up to 750 new jobs in South Wales.

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