Ferrari gives cautious forecast for 2016, shares slide
By Agnieszka Flak
MILAN (Reuters) - Italian carmaker Ferrari gave a cautious outlook for its financial performance this year, its first as a standalone company, as growth in sales of its supercars is expected to slow, pushing its shares to record lows.
Ferrari's New York-listed shares fell more than 14 percent to their lowest since the maker of red cars with the prancing horse logo was listed on Wall Street last October. The stock fell as much as 9.8 percent in Milan.
Ferrari, spun off from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles at the start of the year, said on Tuesday it expects shipments to rise 3 percent this year to around 7,900 vehicles.
Overall deliveries of cars, which include the 1-million-euro LaFerrari hybrid, rose 6 percent last year, despite a 22 percent slump in shipments in China, where the company makes less than 5 percent of its sales.
On a conference call with analysts, the company said it expects this year's growth to come primarily from the United States and Europe, its two main markets, while China was forecast to be flat year-on-year.
Ferrari said it expects 2016 adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of more than 770 million euros (581 million pounds), up from 748 million last year. Revenues are seen rising slightly to above 2.9 billion euros from 2.85 billion.
"The fourth-quarter numbers are in line but 2016 guidance is super-conservative," one trader said.
Analysts have been forecasting adjusted EBITDA for 2016 of around 800 million euros.
Ferrari's fourth-quarter figures came in in line with expectations and the carmaker said it would pay a dividend on 2015 earnings of 0.46 euros per share. In future, it expects to pay out between 25-40 percent of net profit in dividends.
Ferrari Chairman Sergio Marchionne, who is also FCA's chief executive, has sought to position Ferrari as a luxury goods business to win the high-flying trading multiples of companies such as Hermes and Prada.
But the shares touched a lifetime low of $34.06 on Tuesday, well below the carmaker's IPO price of $52 a share.
The stock has been struggling since its Oct. 21 market debut, hit by stock market volatility and concerns over luxury stocks as well as analysts questioning whether the small-volume, capital-intensive carmaker will be able to sustain the high valuations going forward.
Marchionne said on Tuesday the carmaker would stick to its mantra of restricting sales to preserve the brand's exclusivity. He also said Ferrari would not follow rivals in building crossover models to boost sales.
"You'd have to shoot me first," Marchionne said.
Rival Lamborghini's first SUV is expected to be launched in 2018.
(Additional reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Greg Mahlich and Adrian Croft)
