By Giulio Piovaccari
MILAN (Reuters) -Luxury sports car maker Ferrari (NYSE:RACE) raised its full-year revenue and core earnings forecasts on Wednesday, citing "exceptional" second quarter results and "robust" orders.
Ferrari's modestly improved guidance was supported in particular by lucrative personalisations, which include a total carbon-fibre finish, as well as a strong product mix, Chief Executive Benedetto Vigna said.
Personalisations are the touches that a customer requests to make the model more suited to their tastes, both inside and out.
Ferrari said pricing power also contributed to what it called exceptional second quarter results -- when its adjusted EBITDA grew 32% to 589 million euros, sustained by demand for the Daytona SP3, the 812 Competizione and the SF90 models.
"Our order book remains stunningly high across all geographies and the full product range thanks to a robust order intake," Vigna told analysts in a post-earnings call.
The second quarter saw first deliveries for the new 'Prancing Horse' 12-cylinder Purosangue four-door, four-seater, whose prices start from around 400,000 euros.
GOING ELECTRIC IN 2025
Vigna said Purosangue, which means Thoroughbred in Italian, was in a ramp-up phase and would stay below 10% of Ferrari's total production this year.
He added Ferrari was planning to continue taking orders for the model, for which waiting lists already extend to 2026.
"It's going very well. The car continues to have a very, very strong traction," Vigna said.
Although it does not call the Purosangue a SUV, the car brings Ferrari into competition with similar models made by rivals such as Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p)'s Lamborghini.
Vigna added that Ferrari planned to present its first electric car in the last three months of 2025, a more precise timetable than previously indicated.
The Italian company forecast adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to grow to between 2.19-2.22 billion euros this year, versus a previous forecast of 2.13 billion to 2.18 billion euros.
Ferrari's car shipments were slightly down in the second quarter, in all regions except for EMEA. Hybrid deliveries accounted for 43% of the total, more than double the figure for the same period in 2022.
Ferrari shares, which are up around 40% this year, closed down 0.3%, outstripping Italy's blue-chip index.