Aston Martin lowers profit guidance amid supply chain turmoil

Aston Martin has lowered its profit expectations for 2024 after the car manufacturer blamed supply chain disruption and “continued macroeconomic weakness” in China.

The group said it was making a “strategic realignment” of its 2024 wholesale volumes, which includes making 1,000 fewer vehicles.

Due to external factors in the global automotive industry and weak demand in China, Aston Martin said it had been experiencing a growing number of late component arrivals due to disruption at several of its suppliers.

This has led to an increasing number of cars taking longer to complete, with these issues impacting the efficiency of its operations and delaying the delivery of its vehicles.

Aston Martin has lowered the guidance for its adjusted EBITDA, wholesale volumes and gross margin as a result.

“Near perfect execution was required to meet the Company's ambitious 2024 plan,” said Aston Martin CEO, Adrian Hallmark.

“However, it has become clear that we need to take decisive action to adjust our production volumes for 2024 given a combination of supplier disruption, the weak macroeconomic environment in China and a proactive decision to strategically re-align our production plans to optimise efficiency and achieve a more balanced delivery cadence in the future.”

Equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Aarin Chiekrie, added: “The number of cars coming off the line is set to be 1,000 lower than previously expected as supply chain disruptions have seen a growing number of late-arriving components. And demand in China has been weak as this vast market continues to wrestle with its own economic challenges.

“As a result, underlying cash profits (EBITDA) are now expected to finish behind last year’s level, and the group no longer expects to become free cash flow positive in the second half. Newly minted CEO Hallmark says that after a month behind the wheel, previous growth targets were ambitious but he remains confident in Aston Martin’s growth potential.”



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