Luxury car distributor anticipates profit loss for 2016

Luxury car importer and distributor Auto Italia Holdings Ltd. is expecting to record a profit loss for last year’s operations, ended December 31, according to a company filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The exact amount was not disclosed.
The group, which imports and distributes Ferrari and Maserati vehicles to the two SARs, recorded a HK$27.8 million (US$3.58 million) profit in 2015 for its operations; however, a November announcement by the company that Ferrari would be dropping the importer effective May 27 of this year could have impacted the results.
The filing by the company noted that it had ‘received an advice from Ferrari to terminate the import and distribution rights of “Ferrari” cars in Hong Kong and Macau,’ also mentioning that it considers ‘that the cessation of the Ferrari business will not have any material adverse impact on the profitability of the Group.’
While noting that it is ‘in discussion with Ferrari for transition arrangement,’ in November of last year, the company has stayed silent on multiple enquiries from Business Daily regarding the nature of the transition and the reason behind the sudden cessation of the contract.
The group’s interim report notes that a ‘decrease in overall car unit sales in Hong Kong operation’ contributed to an 11.7 per cent drop in revenue in the group’s car division year-on-year, with first half-year (2016) revenue reaching HK$401.4 million, and sales and distribution costs for the same period at HK$104.2 million.