Ferrari reports profit growth

Ferrari has reported an increase in profit for the third quarter.

The luxury car marker said that results were boosted by an overall increase in the sales of sports cars.

Sales rose 21 per cent during the period, bringing in €723 million (£522 million) in revenue. That’s a nine per cent rise compared to last year. Higher net revenues in cars and spare parts were partly offset by a decrease in engines.

Shipments were 1,949 units in Q3 – that was up 21 per cent from 1,612 last year. This was driven by a 33 per cent increase in sales of eight-cylinder models, in particular the 488 GTB, California T and 458 Speciale A. These improvements more than offset the phase out of the 458 Italia and 458 Spider.

Shipments of 12-cylinder models were down 17 per cent, with the F12 Berlinetta in its fourth year of commercialisation.

Free cash flow for the three months to the end of September was €74 million – this was primarily due to an increase in cash from operating activities, which included a one-time cash inflow from the sale of investment properties.

Ferrari added that it expects deliveries to reach 7,700 vehicles by the end of the year.

Fiat-Chrysler

Last week, Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) sold ten per cent of its stake in Ferrari to investors in New York.

The company, the world’s 7th largest car manufacturer, also released its results this week. It reported a €299 million loss, despite growing global sales of the Jeep brand.

Shares in FCA fell 3.5 per cent after announcing that it saw significant losses due to what it called the current “recall environment”.

In a statement, the firm explained that its bottom line suffered because the “group recorded one-off after-tax charges of €602 million [...] mainly to adjust reserves to reflect current regulatory and recall environment”.

FCA’s earnings were up 35 per cent to €1.3 billion – compared to €968 million for the same period last year – and the sale of Ferrari helped to boost this number.