Italian sports car-maker Ferrari says profits last year rose 34 percent, driven by a surge in V12 sales and vehicle personalization. But the news from the Middle East was less than rosy. Ferrari revealed on Thursday that shipments to the region “recorded a decrease due to a reallocation triggered by tough market conditions.”
In earlier commentaries, Ferrari had disclosed that Middle Eastern shipments were down 16 percent in 2016 compared to 2014. The Italian sports auto company said the ME spanned KSA, Oman, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon and Qatar.
Ferrari reported 2017 net profit of €537 million ($669 million), up from €400 million the previous year. Shipments last year rose by 5 percent to 8,398 vehicles, while net revenues increased 10 percent to €3.4 billion. George Galliers, an analyst in Evercore ISI in London said that while not unsuccessful, per se, the broker felt that Ferrari’s longer-range GT cars have failed to attract the same level of demand as its sports-car models.
