29th Aug 2018 08:50
LONDON (Alliance News) - Luxury car maker Aston Martin Holdings Ltd on Wednesday confirmed its intention for an initial public offering on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, supporting its plan by revealing higher interim profit and revenue.
The 105-year-old auto maker, founded in 1913, said a prospectus will be published on or around September 20.
The company did not give any financial details of its IPO. Global joint coordinators are Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs International, and JPMorgan Securities, while financial advisor is Lazard.
Aston Martin is aiming for a premium listing on the London Main Market, floating at least 25% of its shares. It said Germany's Daimler AG, which currently has a 4.9% stake, will remain a shareholder. The car maker was owned partially or fully by the US's Ford Motor Co from 1987 to 2007.
The British firm's iconic sports cars have appeared in 11 James Bond films over the course of almost 50 years, starting with the DB5, which appeared in Goldfinger in 1964.
Aston Martin said eligible employees and customers will be able to purchase shares in the offer at the yet unknown offer price.
In the six months ended June, the sports car maker posted an 8% increase in interim revenue to GBP444.9 million from GBP410.3 million the year before.
Aston Martin pretax profit increased 2.5% to GBP20.8 million from GBP20.3 million the previous year. In 2017, the company posted a full year pretax profit of GBP84.5 million, from a GBP162.8 million loss in 2016.
The company said its capital expenditure increased in the first half to GBP152.4 million from GBP107.3 million - a result of the "cadence of development activities" to support the car maker's new model pipeline.
Wholesale volumes decreased in the half to 2,299 units, from 2,439 units the previous year.
The company expects to produce between 6,200 and 6,400 cars in the full year, rising to between 7,100 and 7,300 in 2019 and rising further to between 9,600 and 9,800 in 2020.
In the medium term, Aston Martin expects to increase its production to 14,000 cars annually. The rise in production will include the company launching a sports utility vehicle and luxury sedans.
The luxury car maker is expecting to launch seven new models, one each year through to 2022.
President & Chief Executive Officer Andy Palmer said: "Today's announcement represents a key milestone in the history of the company, which is reporting strong financial results and increased global demand for its award-winning sports cars. As we continue to execute our second century plan, combining a product offensive and expanding manufacturing footprint, we have the resources and balance sheet strength to continue delivering on our growth strategy.
"Today's results show that we have continued to deliver sustainable growth, margins and value for our shareholders whilst launching three new models and variants in the first half of the year.
"Since launching the second century plan in 2015, Aston Martin Lagonda has been transformed into a luxury business focused on creating the world's most beautiful high-performance cars. This transformation has delivered significant growth in revenues, unit volumes and profitability. Our strategy is being implemented by an experienced management team that launched breakthrough new models, increased our brand value and built important partnerships in the luxury sector. This strategy, which will include the opening of a new plant at St Athan in Wales in 2019, has seen Aston Martin Lagonda unveil models including the DBS Superleggera and the Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar to widespread acclaim."