Ferrari posts record profits on restricted volume

Wed, 19 Feb 2014

Most automakers are after one thing and one thing only: selling more cars. Because, after all, selling more cars means making more money. Right? Well that's usually the case, but Ferrari has taken a different approach. Rather than try and sell more cars, Ferrari intentionally sold fewer models in 2013, yet it made more money.

The move was implemented after 2012 emerged as the strongest year in the company's history. Instead of pushing to sell even more cars, it opted to maintain a level of exclusivity by selling fewer – 5.4 percent fewer than the year before, to be specific – thereby ensuring that those it did sell were worth more. As a result, in 2013, Ferrari logged record turnover, profits and finances: on 2.3-billion euros of revenue (up 5 percent from the previous year), Ferrari recorded 363.5 million euros in profit last year – that's roughly $500M USD.

Before you go jumping to conclusions, though, bear a few factors in mind. For one, Ferrari's stakeholders aren't pocketing all that cash – they're reinvesting it into the company: over the course of the same year, Ferrari invested some 337 million euros – 464 million dollars – in research and development. And while the company's extensive merchandizing efforts continue to bring in more cash, at 54 million euros ($74M) raised last year, the branding operation still doesn't account for a sixth of overall revenues. Still, it's little wonder that the experts at Brand Finance have named Ferrari the world's most powerful brand for the second year running.

Don't worry about the shortage in supply affecting availability of Prancing Horses in America, either: the United States remains Ferrari's largest market by far, with 2,035 vehicles delivered last year – a 9-percent increase over the previous year. China remains the company's second-largest market with 700 deliveries, while Italy has, in the company's own words, "become a marginal market for the luxury car sector": last year, Ferrari sold just 205 cars in its home market, or barely more than a tenth of what it moves on our shores.

2013 RESULTS: RECORD PROFITS, REVENUES AND NET FINANCIAL POSITION WITH FEWER CARS

REVENUES: 2.3 BILLION EURO (+ 5%)
TRADING PROFIT: 363.5 MILLION EURO (+ 8.3%)
NET PROFIT: 246 MILLION EURO (+5.4%)

INDUSTRIAL NET CASH POSITION: 1.36 BILLION EURO, THE BEST EVER
HOMOLOGATED CARS DELIVERED TO DEALERSHIPS: 6,922 (-5.4%)
RECORD DELIVERIES TO US AND UK, GOOD PERFORMANCE IN CHINA AND JAPAN RECORD RESULTS FOR BRAND-RELATED ACTIVITIES WITH REVENUES UP TO 54 MILLION EUROS (+3,6%)
BRAND FINANCE CONFIRMS FERRARI REMAINS WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL BRAND

Maranello, 18th February 2014 – Another extraordinary year for Ferrari. After 2012, its best ever year, the company decided to reduce the number of cars sold to maintain a high level of exclusivity and increasing their value over the time, improving results. The concept worked: there were reduced sales in 2013, but record turnover, profits and finances. This fact was highlighted during the meeting of the Ferrari Board of Directors held today in Maranello under the chairmanship of Luca di Montezemolo to examine the end-of-year financial results. While the number of homologated cars delivered to the network dropped to 6,922 cars (-5.4 per cent) in 2013, revenues rose by 5 per cent, eventually reaching an unprecedented 2.3 billion Euro.

End-of-year trading profits reached a record 363.5 million euro (+8.3 per cent). Ferrari also delivered net profits in excess of 246 million euro (+5.4 per cent). RoS (Return on Sales) leapt to 15.6 per cent, on a par with the very bestperforming companies in the luxury sector. The finishing touch to this very positive scenario comes from the significant investments made by Ferrari over the last 12 months, which, including Research and Development, reached an overall figure of 337 million euro (up from 324 million in 2012), almost 15 per cent of revenues. These investments were completely self-financed thanks in great part to the fact that the company's excellent cash flow has been on the increase for some time now, jumping again in 2013 and resulting in a net financial position of 1.36 billion euro, the best ever in Ferrari's history. "This is a very important result that comes as a direct consequence of the huge effort made by everyone. 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, the result of significant investment in product and technological innovation." Said President Luca di Montezemolo. " We have also taken important strategic decisions relating to Brand which will make an ever increasing contribution to the success of the company. A great source of satisfaction to us all is that we have been named the world's Most Powerful Brand once again: confirmation we have succeeded in enhancing the value of this incredible brand." Today, 100 per cent of the cars are personalised, with the Tailor Made programme gaining in strength. The Classic Department is constantly increasing its activity and profitability.

The strategy regarding deliveries to the dealership network announced in the course of the year involved a planned overall reduction in volumes, but paying attention to those markets experiencing very strong demand to avoid excessively long waiting lists. One example of this is the USA where there were a record 2,035 deliveries, an increase of 9 per cent on the previous year. The UK market grew slightly and, with 677 homologated cars delivered to the network set a new record and became Europe's leading market, overtaking Germany, where deliveries stood at 652, a drop of around 100 over the previous year. Staying in Europe, sales in Italy were down once again, confirming the trend over recent years. Italy has become a marginal market for the luxury car sector: with 205 orders it now represents less than 3 per cent of Ferrari's global sales. In Greater China (People's Republic of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) sales to end clients were good, standing at 700, allowing it to retain its position as the second largest market worldwide. Deliveries to the dealership network were down by around a quarter.

However, this was a by-product not of the market situation but Ferrari's decision to contain stock numbers. The positive trend continues in the Middle East and Africa with an increase of 8 per cent bringing to 599 the number of homologated cars delivered to the network. In the Far East, Japan performed exceptionally well once again in 2013, ending the year on 380 cars, a leap of over 20 per cent. Brand-related businesses (Retail, Licensing and E-commerce) also yielded very good results and from this year onwards will be managed by a separate company, 100 per cent owned by Ferrari and based in Maranello. Overall, operating margin in that area was up by 3.6 per cent to 54 million euro. Direct retail activities grew by 19.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis, and by 30 per cent as a result of new openings. Part of this good performance, of course, was because of the new in-store décor concept, which will be extended to upcoming projects, and to the launch of new categories of merchandise. Licensing maintains its positive impetus too, thanks to new licencing deals and the brilliant performance of our main and strategic partners, such as Puma, Hublot, Movado and Microsoft. With regard to e-commerce, growth targets set were met, recording revenues in excess of 8.4 million euros in 2013. Ferrari also enjoys an excellent online and social network presence. The official Ferrari website attracted over 40 million visitors while the brand is one of the leading lights of the global social media scene with 12.5 million fans on Facebook, up 25 per cent from 2012. On the Formula 1 sponsorship front, Ferrari signed two major deals, one with leading logistics expert, UPS and the second with eyewear company Oakley.

Aside from its logo appearing on the Scuderia drivers' helmets, the latter will also develop a new range of eyewear. Several sponsorship contracts were renewed in 2013, most specifically with Weichai Power, which is part of the Weichai Group, one of China's leading industrial corporations. In the meantime, leading London-based brand valuation experts, Brand Finance, have named Ferrari the world's Most Powerful Brand for the second consecutive year, awarding it an AAA+ rating that puts it ahead of highlyrespected and established multinational consumer companies. The brand rating not only takes into account financial metrics, such as average revenue per customer and investment, but also a complex array of other parameters, including brand affection and loyalty, client management and human resources. Lastly, it also gives us great pleasure to announce that today, on the anniversary of the birth of Enzo Ferrari, the company embraces a new challenge by taking over the management of the Museo Casa Natale Enzo Ferrari in Modena. Located in the heart of the city, the museum will complement the activities of the Ferrari Museum in Maranello which attracted a record 320,000 visitors in 2013, making it one of Italy's most popular museums.

By Noah Joseph