By Giulio Piovaccari and Keith Weir
MILAN (Reuters) -Luxury sports car maker Ferrari (NYSE:RACE) reassured investors on Thursday that its revenues and core earnings would keep growing this year, supported by a strong order book stretching across 2025.
The upbeat forecasts sent Ferrari's shares roaring ahead by as much as 9.5%, putting the company's market value in sight of a record $100 billion mark.
"The vitality of our business is once again confirmed by the order book... which remains strong across all geographies and covers the entire 2025," Chief Executive Benedetto Vigna told analysts on a call.
Ferrari will enter a new era in the final quarter of next year when it plans to launch its first fully electric car.
Presenting its 2023 results, which broadly met its targets, the Italian company guided for adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increasing to at least 2.45 billion euros ($2.64 billion) this year.
That compares with the 2.28 billion euros delivered in 2023.
"Investors were fearing the worst, namely a conservative guide well below consensus estimates," RBC analysts said in a note, adding this had caused the stock's recent sell-off.
By 1535 GMT Milan-listed Ferrari shares were up 9.2%. They had lost over 10% between mid-December and late-January.
Away from the boardroom, there were media reports that Ferrari's Formula One racing team had pulled off a coup by hiring seven times' world champion Lewis Hamilton to race for them from 2025.
PUROSANGUE IN DEMAND
The company said its shipments rose 3% last year to 13,663 vehicles, driven by the ramp-up phase of its four-door, four-seater Purosangue model.
The carmaker generated over 930 million euros of cash last year and around 800 million of that will be distributed to shareholders, through dividends and share buybacks, Vigna said.
Bernstein analysts said Ferrari had recently reined in earnings expectations so the guidance for this year "may actually provide relief to some investors, who feared that Ferrari would continue to manage down expectations on 2024".
"We believe there is room for guidance to creep up over the year as Ferrari gains more visibility on personalisation rates," they said in a note, referring to the premiums customers pay to make the cars they buy more suited to their tastes.
Personalisations amounted to around 19% of Ferrari's total revenue last year.
CEO Vigna said the "exceptional visibility" in the company's order book would allow it "to look at the high-end of 2026 targets with stronger confidence".
In its long-term business plan Ferrari has projected adjusted EBITDA of 2.5 billion-2.7 billion euros in 2026.
($1 = 0.9266 euros)