Aston Martin swings to third-quarter loss as volumes drop

LONDON: Luxury British carmaker Aston Martin swung to a third-quarter loss on Thursday, saying its full-year wholesale volumes would be lower than previously guided after slumping demand in Europe and Asia. Volumes to dealers dropped 16 per cent to 1,497 cars in the three months to the end of September as demand in Britain fell 22 per cent, the wider Europe, Middle East and Africa area dropped 17 per cent and in Asia volumes fell by a third. The 106-year firm, famed for being fictional agent James Bond’s brand of choice, is taking action to cut costs and hopes the launch of its first sport utility vehicle, the DBX, at a new factory in Wales, will boost performance next year. “We’re essentially holding the cost of a complete factory right now without the benefit of the revenues coming in... so from that point of view of course it’s a really important model,” Chief Executive Andy Palmer told Reuters. Aston, based in Gaydon near Birmingham, posted a 13.5 million-pound loss in the three months to the end of September, but said it still expects to meet market expectations of core earnings at around 203 million pounds ($261 million). But Aston has suffered since its flotation last October where shares launched at 19 pounds ($24.50) before dropping for months and languishing at between 4 and 5 pounds for the last few weeks. — Reuters