LONDON: Shares in embattled luxury carmaker Aston Martin Lagonda surged 11 percent today as its chief executive stood down, to be replaced by a former Ferrari boss.
Tobias Moers, who struggled to turn around James Bond’s favourite car brand, has stepped aside with immediate effect, Aston Martin said in a statement.
His replacement Amedeo Felisa, a former CEO of Ferrari, steps up from his non-executive director role at the British group.
“We have a clear objective to continue the transformation of Aston Martin into an ultra-luxury, high-performance brand and become a leader in our sector,” Felisa said on his appointment.
Aston Martin today added that losses more than doubled in the first quarter from a year earlier.
The company’s loss before tax jumped to almost £112 million (RM611mil) from £42 million (RM229mil) in the first three months of 2021.
At about 1030 GMT, shares in Aston Martin gained 11.2 percent to 940.4 pence in London deals.
“News that ex-Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa is stepping into the Aston Martin driver’s seat kicked an otherwise uninspiring earnings release into high gear,” noted Laura Hoy, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“The business behind James Bond’s sleek supercars has been anything but polished over the past few years, and with a new strategy in place, the market’s hoping that Felisa can pick up the pace.”
Keyword: Aston Martin shares accelerate higher as CEO departs