It delivered 6,250 cars worldwide last year
By SAMUEL EE
ITAL Auto delivered its first Ferrari late last month, the California, a convertible which has helped the Italian super sports car maker deflect the pain from the global economic crisis by reaching out to new customers.
Red hot: The California, a new 2+2 hardtop convertible, helped Ferari weather the financial storm in 2009. Ital Auto estimates that a total of 15 to 20 buyers will receive their Californias this year The first California in rosso corsa - the signature Ferrari red paint finish - has since been joined by three other units, with four more cars scheduled for delivery over the next month. Ital Auto estimates that a total of 15 to 20 buyers will receive their Californias in 2010, depending on the factory's situation.
Ital Auto became the official Ferrari importer in September last year and the $798,000 California is the first new Ferrari it has registered. The company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Komoco Motors, also expects to start delivering the 458 Italia mid-engined coupe by September.
The California is a new 2+2 hardtop convertible which has helped the Maranello-based manufacturer weather the financial storm in 2009. Despite the global luxury sports car market contracting by a whopping 35 per cent, Ferrari's sales slowed down by only 5 per cent from 2008, which was the most financially successful year in the carmaker's history.
Ferrari delivered 6,250 cars worldwide last year, with emerging economies registering growth and more mature markets experiencing a 'controlled contraction'.
The prancing horse also grew its market share by an average 10 percentage points in the sports car segment worldwide.
It said the results were due to the 'extraordinary success' of the Ferrari California, for which 60 per cent of the customers were new to the brand.
At end-2009, Ferrari's consolidated revenues were 1,778 million euros - down 7 per cent from the previous year. Operating profit was 245 million euros - down 28 per cent from 341 million euros in 2008.
The return on sales (ROS) for 2009 was 13.8 per cent.
However, Ferrari was hurt by the unfavourable exchange rate. With over 30 per cent of its sales made in US dollars, the weakness of the greenback had a major impact on profitability.
But the currency effect was partially compensated by increasing efficiencies due to the rationalisation of industrial processes.
Looking ahead, Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo said Ferrari's strategy of focusing on innovation and exclusivity will allow it to tackle 2010, which will be a very difficult year, with the first small signs of recovery not coming until autumn.
North America was Ferrari's largest market last year with 1,467 cars delivered - down about 200 from the previous year. Europe as a whole saw 2,752 cars delivered, with an overall drop of 6 per cent. Italy and Germany remain its most important European markets, with 655 and 644 delivered cars respectively.
As for Ferrari's new markets, the Middle East continued to stand out with an increase of 29 per cent to 471 cars delivered. In Asia Pacific, a total of 1,117 cars - up 3 per cent - were delivered. China accounted for 206 of these, while Japan stayed in the top five markets worldwide with 8 per cent of total deliveries.
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