Aston Martin announces £119m loss over COVID-19

British luxury sports car maker, Aston Martin (AML.L), has announced a first-quarter pretax loss of 119 million pounds ($146 million) on Wednesday due to the effects of the deadly coronavirus.

The carmaker's sales have dropped by nearly a third due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and the destocking of dealers, according to reports.

In order to manage the COVID-19 Aston Martin has furloughed staff, introduced additional safety measures and cut the pay of its senior management.

This is coming due to the slump in core retail sales by an annual 31%, Reuters reports.

Chief Executive Andy Palmer said that the “COVID-19 and the resulting global economic shutdown has had a material impact on our performance this quarter.”

Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, who leads a consortium which took a stake in the company earlier this year, hopes to pursue a turnaround partly by sharing Formula One technology with the firm’s range of road cars.

But the firm said on Wednesday the pandemic meant it could no longer provide full-year guidance.

“Given the ongoing uncertainties, as is prudent, the company continues to review all future funding and refinancing options to increase liquidity,” it said.

Source: Reuters