Luxury automaker Aston Martin announced on Wednesday that its losses expanded in the first quarter, sending the company’s shares sliding more than 5% in London trading.
The increase in losses occurred as the automaker halted production of its main models in preparation for the release of a new vehicle lineup later this year.
The adjusted pre-tax loss for the quarter nearly doubled to £110.5 million ($137.8 million) from £57.3 million the previous year, surpassing analysts' expectations of a £93 million loss.
Revenue declined by 10% to £267.7 million, and net debt rose by 20% to £1.04 billion.
The growing debt burden has been a persistent issue for Aston Martin investors and has been significantly weighing on the firm’s share price since its 2018 IPO.
Commenting on the report, analysts from Jefferies highlighted a “big miss across metrics,” pointing out a 26% decline in volumes.
“Q2 performance indicated at a similar level as Q1 before improving in H2 as guidance is confirmed,” analysts noted.