Ferrari revs up, doubling third quarter profit

Milan: Ferrari on Monday said it had doubled third quarter net profits to 287 million euros ($327 million) as the iconic Italian sports car brand revved way past analyst forecasts of 208 million.

After net profit of 141 million euros in the same quarter last year, the ‘Prancing Horse’ said it was cruising towards “another great year … in line with 2018 targets,” despite three month sales advancing just 0.3 percent to 838 million euros, below a forecast 871 million.

Stripping out currency fluctuations however, sales rose 2.2 percent, said Ferrari, whose share price fell 1.5 percent to 102.7 euros in mid-session Milan trading.

Ferrari said total shipments for the period came in at 2,262 — 1,005 to Europe, the Middle East and Africa — for a rise of 10.6 percent.

Deliveries to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan were up 6.6 percent while sales to the remainder of Asia rose by a quarter.

Ferrari confirmed its year revenue outlook of 3.4 billion euros and sales of more than 9,000 units.

Unveiling its strategic plans through to 2022 in September, Ferrari had said it was looking to ramp up production of hybrid cars and limited edition, racing style collections, including the 810 horsepower “Icona.”

The first collections are the Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2, costing a base 1.6 million euros on production runs of a maximum 500 units.

Such moves are the centrepiece of new CEO Louis Camilleri’s five-year “ambitious but feasible” plan to increase volume and lift profits.

[source_without_link]AFP[/source_without_link]