Helped by its drive to cut costs, VW Group owned Italian supercar Lamborghini managed to report a 27.4 percent increase in pretax profits in 2008 over 2007 despite the fact that its sales remained virtually the same. More specifically, turnover increased from €467,1 million. to €78,8 million in 2008 (+2,5%) while pretax profits rose from €47,1 million to €60,0 million. In terms of sales, the brand with the raging bull logo sold 2,430 cars worldwide in 2008, or 24 vehicles more than 2007 which represents a 1 percent increase.
Not surprisingly, the Italian brand saw a significant decrease in sales in the U.S. with 741 units sold compared to the 930 sold the year before - that's a 20.3% drop. In Europe, the firm's sales remained stable.
The drop in U.S. sales was offset by strong growth rates in other core markets like the Middle Eastern region, particularly the United Arab Emirates where Lamborghini achieved a sales increase of 66% from 100 to 166 units while China more than doubled its sales from 28 to 72 vehicles.
Commenting on the results, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini, Stephan Winkelmann, said: "With this new record in deliveries and profits we have marked the most successful fiscal year in the history of our company. The worldwide economic climate, especially regarding luxury markets, has changed dramatically. However, Lamborghini's stronghold in global presence and brand appeal will enable us to steer Lamborghini through challenging times."
Lamborghini's outlook for 2009 is cautious with the low volume luxury carmaker saying that it would like to end the year with a profit. "Lamborghini is not in a position to make a full year forecast, but the overall target for the 2009 financial year is to attain an overall profit," the company said in a statement.
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