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More than £80m has been wiped off the value of Aston Martin after the struggling carmaker issued another profit warning.
The company’s shares fell by as much as 9.1pc in the wake of Tuesday’s announcement, as bosses revealed it had raised £210m to shore up its balance sheet.
The fundraise, which consists of £111m from investors and £100m in debt, was confirmed after Aston Martin forecasted annual earnings of between £270m and £280m, which was below analyst estimates.
The celebrated brand, closely associated with the James Bond films, said it had raised £111m by issuing shares at 100p each, which was 7.3pc below Tuesday’s closing share price of 107.9p.
The latest profit warning was the company’s second in as many months, as bosses blamed delivery delays for its Valiant model.
It had already cut its guidance in September, warning that supply chain issues would hit annual production by about 1,000 cars.
Adrian Hallmark, who joined as chief executive from Bentley in August, said: “With this financing successfully secured, we are now well positioned for growth, underpinned by the strength of our brand and the world-class product portfolio we have brought to market.”
Aston Martin is in the middle of a multi-year turnaround effort kicked off by billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll, who became its chairman in January 2020 after rescuing the struggling brand with his Yew Tree Consortium.
Shares in the company have plunged by 97pc since it listed in 2018, at which point it had a valuation of £4.33bn.
It is now worth around £850m, as the company battles supply chain issues and production delays, as well as falling demand from the key Chinese market.
Earlier this year, it delayed the launch of its first electric car, the Valhalla, after admitting that drivers still want “the sports car smell, feel and noise” of a petrol engine.
The group said it was issuing its latest profit warning as it expects to deliver around half the 38 new Valiant models expected by the end of the year.
It blamed this on “a minor delay in the timing of a small number of deliveries”.
Aston Martin delivered just 1,998 cars in the first half of 2024, nearly a third fewer than during the same period last year.
Mr Stroll said: “Aston Martin has made huge strategic progress since the Yew Tree Consortium first invested in the company in 2020, transforming our product offering, revitalising our brand and accelerating our business operations forward.”
The latest profit warning comes at a difficult time for European car makers, which have been knocked by sliding sales, overseas competition, as well as pressure over new electric vehicle targets in the UK.
Vauxhall owner Stellantis revealed plans on Tuesday to shut the carmaker’s Luton factory, partly blaming the “stringent” UK zero-emission vehicle mandate.