Aston Martin’s Losses Deepen

Aston Martin Holdings Ltd. reports its sales revenue last year rose 16% to £584 million ($740 million).

Unit sales in October-December surged nearly 50% to 1,700 cars, raising the company’s full-year total 2% to 3,700 units.

Earnings in 2016 before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization climbed 42% to £101 million ($126 million). EBITDA jumped 90% to £69 million in the fourth quarter, the result of strong demand for the company’s new DB11 sports car. But the weakened British pound and tooling writedowns caused Aston Martin’s pretax losses to deepen 27% to £163 million ($203 million).

CEO Andy Palmer tells Reuters that the DB11, coupled with new versions of the company’s Vanquish and Vantage luxury cars that will share the DB11’s platform, will hike sales and enable the company to return to profitability no later than 2018. Last spring Palmer predicted that new models will enable the marque to double its annual volume to 7,000 units within four years.

Aston Martin is building a £200 million factory in St. Athan, Wales, that will begin producing the brand’s first crossover vehicle, the DBX, in 2019. The company also is developing a next-generation version of its Lagonda sedan by the end of the decade.