Aston Martin Lagonda profits hit by delays with Valkyrie ‘hyper car’

Aston Martin Lagonda has taken a £15 million hit from delays shipping its new Valkyrie sports cars.

The high-end auto company delivered just 10 of the new models in the final months of 2021, which was fewer than planned. CEO Tobias Moers blamed “supply chain challenges and huge complexity in the production ramp-up” but said production was now on track.

He said there was “tremendous demand” for the cars, which Aston Martin claims are “as close as possible to a Formula One car without being restricted to the track” and dubs a “hyper car”.

Valkyries are high margin and delays mean full-year profits will suffer. Revenues should be in line with forecasts thanks to overall shipments meeting targets. Aston Martin touted success in the luxury SUV market, claiming it now has a 20% share of the market. It shipped just over 3,000 of its DBX SUVs in the first full year of production.

Lawrence Stroll, the Canadian billionaire who bailed out the struggling car maker in 2020, said: “The evidence is there that our strategy is working, as retail sales are well ahead of wholesales supported by strong pricing and improving residual values. It is a very long time since the core business was in such good health as it is today.”

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “The company still can’t shake the habit of delivering some sort of bad news every time it updates the market.

“The latest setback effectively adds up to another profit warning, whereby it shipped fewer Valkyrie vehicles than planned during the fourth quarter. The company says this is only a timing issue as it already has buyers lined up, hence why the share price has not collapsed on the news.”

Shares rose 42.5p, or 3.1p, to 1413p.

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