Ferrari announces record profits

Ferrari has confirmed it has made a record profit in its latest financial results, which were released by the firm yesterday (February 18th).

It was announced by the company that it made a net profit of 264 million euros (£217 million) for the full year 2013, which it noted was up 5.4 per cent on 2012's data, even though Ferrari sold fewer cars last year than over the course of the previous 12 months.

The number of cars delivered to dealerships was revealed by the firm to have dropped by about five per cent over the year to 6,922, but Ferrari explained that this was a conscious decision that it took to maintain the luxury status of the brand, as well as to increase the cars' value.

Revenues rise

Revenues therefore rose by five per cent despite the small drop in sales over the year to a record 2.3 billion euros, it was announced in a statement released by the firm.

"We wanted to maintain a high level of exclusivity, designing amazing products such as the LaFerrari, the 458 Speciale and the just launched California T," said Ferrari's president, Luca di Montezemolo.

Ferrari's latest financial results also indicated that the UK has now overtaken Germany to become the company's strongest market in Europe. Data released by Ferrari showed that there were 677 sales of Ferrari's cars over the year in the UK.

But it was confirmed by Ferrari that its sales in Italy fell again – dropping to just 205 orders – and the manufacturer revealed that it now sees its home country as a "marginal market for the luxury car sector".

The US is still the largest market for Ferrari cars by far, with figures indicating that there were more than 2,000 deliveries in the country last year, which represents an increase of around nine per cent on the previous 12 months.

As well as selling a range of luxury sports cars, Ferrari is one of the leading manufacturers in the Formula One World Championship, though it has not won the constructors' title since 2008.