Ferrari has trimmed its full-year earnings forecast on Monday following the decline in second-quarter income of about 60% because of the impact of the coronavirus crisis but said orders were “very strong,” sending the luxury automaker’s shares increased almost 4%.
Chief Executive Louis Camilleri informed analysts that last quarter’s order book was up double digits (percentage) in absolute terms, against the same period of 2019.
“Demands remain vibrant and our order book is up significantly,” Camilleri stated.
The automaker said its sales in April-June had been hit by production suspensions and largely lower sponsorship and commercial and brand revenues due to the coronavirus, which has caused a decline in car sales around the world.
That resulted in a 60% decline in adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to 124 million euros ($145 million) in the second quarter.
The automaker now expects full-year adjusted EBITDA of between 1.075 billion-1.125 billion euros.
Morgan Stanley analysts said due to the circumstances, the second-quarter results were strong. “The full-year 2020 guidance, while lowered marginally at the midpoint and below consensus, is extremely high quality and sets up 2021 for a significant year on year (improvement),” they noted.
Ferrari, which makes high-performance models such including F8 Spider, the SF 90 Stradale hybrid, and top-selling Portofino grand tourer, said its performance was also affected by the temporary suspension of the Formula 1 season which caused a decline in the number of races as well as decreased in-store traffic and museum visitors.
The automaker, which also guided for positive free cash flow for 2020, now expects revenue to top 3.4 billion euros this year.
Ferrari is also pushing ahead with its strategy of introducing new model to support growth and profitability, confirming that two new supercars would be revealed by the end of this year.
“Things are slightly delayed but the plan remains intact,” Camilleri said. “Next year we have some exciting models that will be presented”.
