Aston Martin turns a profit
A rare occurrence and the first for 40 years
AML's 1990s springboard to profit: the DB7
AML boss Dr. Ulrich Bez told attendees at the US Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance that it had posted an operating profit in the first and second quarters of 2005, although he declined to say how much.
Parent company Ford doesn't normally provide figures for its subsidiaries although company execs have previously given vague statements -- including several mentions of Jaguar's heavy losses.
Bez said that AML had been in receivership seven times over the years since its inception in 1913 as Bamford & Martin, but it had never stopped operating.
Like so many niche carmakers, AML has traditionally been a plaything for rich entrepreneurs who have been content to run the company at a loss in return for the prestige associated with running Aston Martin.
Bez said that Ford's fiscal discipline proved that the company is capable of generating an operating profit. According to Autoweek, Bez said: "Lots of car companies went insolvent and disappeared. Aston Martin has always come back, and now we are really alive."
With the introduction of the DB9 and V8 Vantage coupes, Aston Martin has announced that it plans to sell about 5,000 units worldwide in 2005 and again in 2006.
About 35 percent of the volume will be in the US. In 2004, Aston Martin sold 2,400 units worldwide via its 125 dealerships, a figure Bez wants to increase to 145.
"We are looking eye-to-eye with Ferrari", said Bez.
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