Aston Martin losses widen as car maker warns on coronavirus

27th Feb 2020 07:58

(Sharecast News) - Troubled UK luxury car maker Aston Martin reported a widened full year loss, the departure of its financial officer and warned that the coronavirus could impact demand in its key China market.
The maker of iconic British sports cars reported a 53% blow out in pre-tax losses to ?104.3m as revenue slipped by 9% to ?997.3m. It also swung to an operating loss of ?36.7m compared with a profit of ?72.8m last year. Net debt increased 57% to ?876.2m.

"Covid-19 has the potential to impact both the supply chain and customer demand in China and other markets. China was the company's fastest-growing market in 2019 and represented 9% of total wholesales," the company said on Thursday.

Chief financial officer Mark Wilson will step down from his role before the end of April.

The company issued a profits warning last July and again in January. Late last month it said it would receive a cash injection of ?182m from a group headed-up by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, giving the consortium a 16.7% stake in the car manufacturer.

Aston Martin also said it would raise an extra ?318m through a rights issue to strengthen its balance sheet.