Despite the setbacks it had to endure due to the corona pandemic, Ferrari remains optimistic. It reports to have had a good year thanks to record sales in the fourth quarter. For this year, Ferrari is counting on an increase in profit due to a continued recovery in sales.
In the fourth quarter of last year, sales rose to more than € 1 billion, 15 percent higher than in the same period in 2019. According to Ferrari, this was due to a record number of deliveries of cars in the last three months of the year. Over the year as a whole, the total number of delivered cars fell by 10 percent to 9,119 cars. However, the boost towards the end of the year has managed to limit the damage. For the whole of 2020, turnover amounted to € 3.5 billion, almost 9 percent lower than a year earlier. Profits fell to € 609 million, 13 percent less than a year ago. Ferrari is counting on considerably more for this year, namely a turnover of roughly € 4.3 billion.
Due to the corona crisis, production had to be shut down for seven weeks. That backlog was partly made up again in the second half of 2020. Ferrari also suffered from the pandemic commercially. For example, it had fewer visitors in the showrooms and Ferrari museums and the company was affected by postponed races on the Formula 1 racing calendar. A decline in engine deliveries to Maserati also resulted in less revenue.
Ferrari now also has to look for a new top man. Last December, then CEO Louis Camilleri unexpectedly resigned for personal reasons. He had become infected with the corona virus and had to recover at home, but according to Ferrari, that was not the reason for his departure. It was the second time in a short time that a top executive left the car brand. Camilleri’s predecessor, Sergio Marchionne, had previously died of complications from surgery. Ferrari Chairman John Elkann will replace Camilleri on a temporary basis until a permanent successor is found. A list of headhunters includes the executives of fashion brands Gucci and Valentino, as well as candidates from the car industry.