Luxury car maker Aston Martin issued another grim profit warning today as tariffs ravaged US sales and deliveries of its Valhalla flagship hybrid supercar were slower than expected.
The Warwickshire based manufacturer told long suffering shareholders that “heightened challenges in the global macroeconomic environment” meant wholesale sales volumes in the current financial year will fall by a “mid-high digit percentage.”
As well as President Trump’s tariffs on car imports the marque has been hit by new taxes on luxury cars in China.
It blamed also blamed the UK government for not providing “proactive support...to protect the interests of small volume manufacturers, like Aston Martin.”
Shares in parent company Aston Martin Lagonda fell another 11%, or 9.3p to 72p and are now more than 96% down on the 1900p they launched at in a 2018 IPO when the company was valued at more than £4 billion.
Earnings this year are now expected to be below “the lower end of the range of market consensus” which stood at a loss of £110 million. The company also said it n longer expects “positive free cash flow generation” in the first half.
Only around 150 deliveries of the Valhalla are expected to be made in the fourth quarter, which is “behind expectations.” Overall Aston Martin made 1,430 deliveries in the three quarter, down from 1,641 in the same period last year.
The company said management has ordered immediate review of future cost and capital expenditures. This is expected to result in lower capital investment in engineering and development for the 2025 to 2029 period of £2 billion than previously guided.
Profitability and free cash flow generation is expected to materially improve in the next financial year “driven by consistent contribution from Valhalla deliveries in addition to ongoing cost reduction programmes.”
Aston Martin said in its trading update “For UK automotive manufacturers, the introduction of a U.S. tariff quota mechanism adds a further degree of complexity and limits the Group's ability to accurately forecast for this financial year end and, potentially, quarterly from 2026 onwards.
“The group continues to engage with both the U.S. and UK governments to secure greater clarity and certainty. Whilst positive dialogue on this matter has been achieved directly with the U.S. government, the company continues to seek more proactive support from the UK government to protect the interests of small volume manufacturers, like Aston Martin, who provide thousands of jobs, making an important contribution to local economies and to the wider UK automotive supply chain.”
