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By Shashwat Awasthi
(Reuters) - Britain's Aston Martin will cut 5% of its workforce to save 25 million pounds ($31.61 million), its chief executive said on Wednesday, after a sharp rise in the luxury carmaker's losses and debt and as sales volumes forecast missed expectations.
Shares in the company famous for being fictional secret agent James Bond's car of choice, tumbled more than 9%.
The company's forecast for mid-single-digit percentage wholesale volume growth in 2025 disappointed Barclays' analysts.
Adjusted pre-tax losses rose 48.7% to 255.5 million pounds for the year ended December 31, with net debt of 1.16 billion pounds up 43% on the year.
"Whilst we began to make progress on the group's adjusted operating expenses in FY 2024 ... we need to deliver more improvements to support future financial performance and drive operating leverage," Chief Executive Adrian Hallmark said in a statement.
The company pushed back the launch of an all electric car to focus on an ultra-luxury hybrid model and highlighted risks from potential tariffs and softer sales in China.
Several European automakers including Volkswagen, Stellantis, and Porsche AG have announced layoffs amid rising costs and weak demand in key markets like China, and are at risk from U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of around 25% auto tariffs.
Aston Martin will prioritize its mid-engined Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), 'Valhalla', which Hallmark said would be a "significant contributor" to financial performance over the next few years.
It plans to produce only 999 units of Valhalla, each reportedly priced at 850,000 pounds ($1.1 million), with deliveries to begin in the second half of 2025. Aston Martin declined to confirm the price.
The company pushed back the launch of its first electric vehicle (BEV) to the latter part of this decade.
Valhalla is expected to help drive positive adjusted operating earnings in 2025 and free cash flow in the second half, the company said. Overall core wholesales volumes will be similar to 2024 levels, it said.
"Lower-than-expected 2025 volume guide and need for demand stimulation and order book improvement underscore luxury/sports car demand weakness," Barclays analysts said in a note.
($1 = 0.7910 pounds)
(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi and Chandini Monnappa; Editing by Varun H K, Shri Navaratnam and Elaine Hardcastle)