Ferrari delivers solid earnings ahead of new CEO's arrival

[MILAN] Ferrari NV largely met expectations with its last set of earnings before the supercar maker installs a new chief executive officer (CEO) from outside the auto industry during its period of dramatic upheaval.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose to 386 million euros (S$620 million) during the second quarter, Ferrari has said, compared with an average analyst estimate of 344 million euros. While revenue was slightly below expectations, the company boosted its annual free cash flow forecast.

Ferrari has been slow to embrace electrification, and the carmaker's hesitancy has started to catch up with the performance of its stock after years of outperforming rivals. The company has picked industry outsider Benedetto Vigna as its new CEO to put Ferrari on course for the era of battery technology and digital services.

The 52-year-old will join from chipmaker STMicroelectronics in September.

The Italian manufacturer will unveil its first vehicle that runs entirely on batteries in 2025, chairman John Elkann said earlier this year, lagging Porsche's popular Taycan, which has been on the road since 2019.

Ferrari will also start sales of its first-ever SUV, the Purosangue, in 2022 - years after the Bentley Bentayga or Lamborghini's Urus.

In June, Ferrari unveiled its second plug-in hybrid, the 819-horsepower 296 GTB, though while many analysts still consider the pace of electrification to be too slow.

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