Ducati Expects 2004 Net Loss of $10.4 Million
Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. says preliminary full year 2004 financial results show revenues of Euro 382.8 million, up 1.0% excluding foreign exchange (forex) effects and down 1.4% including forex effects, versus last year. “We expect to close 2004 with a net loss of approximately 8 million Euro, due to current and deferred income taxes,” Ducati Chief Financial Officer Enrico D’Onofrio said in a prepared statement.
Revenues from motorcycles decreased 4.4% to Euro 302.2 million and represented 78.9% of revenues. Sales of motorcycle-related products, including spare parts, technical accessories and apparel, increased 8.2% to Euro 75.0 million.
EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Tax Depreciation and Amortization) was Euro 39.1 million – up 2.3% excluding forex effects, down 13.5% including forex effects – versus Euro 45.2 million in 2003, mainly due to increased sales costs, the company said.
Ducati’s net debt on December 31, 2004 was Euro 115.9 million, down from Euro 117.2 million on December 31, 2003.
While partly offset by a negative forex effect, gross margin for 2004 was 36.0% versus last year’s 34.7%, thanks to product cost reduction, operational efficiencies and related product sales increase, the company said.
Unofficial Ducati worldwide registrations were down 5.2% versus last year, with France down 1%, Italy down 6%, UK down 13%, Benelux down 17%, Japan down 19% and Germany down 20%, while Spain was up 33%, the U.S. was up 15% and Australia was up 8%.
“2004 was a challenging year for Ducati,” said Federico Minoli, President and CEO of Ducati Motor Holding. “The continuing weakness of the dollar and the difficult market conditions in Germany, France, UK and Japan together with the delay in the introduction of the new Monster S2R weighed heavily on both sales and registrations.”
D’Onofrio says Ducati is finalizing the refinancing of a bond set to expire at the end of May 2005. “The company is evaluating all possible financial instruments including a new bond issue in the range of 100 Million Euros,” he said.
