Ferrari's New CEO Sticks With Sergio Marchionne's Targets

(Bloomberg) -- Ferrari NV’s new chief executive officer is keeping full-year financial goals at the supercar maker after profit jumped 7 percent in the final quarter under his predecessor, Sergio Marchionne, who died last week.

Louis Camilleri published the latest results just 10 days after taking the helm. They showed adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose to 290 million euros ($338 million), beating estimates. The company is expecting more than 1.1 billion euros for the full year.

The new CEO is stepping into the shoes of Marchionne, who boosted Ferrari’s value by spinning it off from Fiat Chrysler and doubled profit in just four years by raising production and introducing one-off models. The former executive, who died July 25, was preparing to expand the manufacturer beyond sportcars and introduce hybrid electric vehicles, including its first ever SUV.

Ferrari is banking on Camilleri getting up to speed quickly to press ahead with Marchionne’s plan to present the carmaker’s strategy through 2022 in September. While Marchionne was planning to retire from Fiat Chrysler in 2019, he was meant to stay on at Ferrari for another five-years. His succession plan was not as advanced at the Maranello-based company as it was at FCA.

Pressure Points

Ferrari confirmed on Wednesday that details on achieving the 2022 targets will be given during two days of investor presentations starting Sept. 17. Marchionne said in February that Ferrari plans to double its profit to 2 billion euros within five years. Bloomberg News first reported his strategy last year.

"In succeeding Marchionne, Camilleri gets all the pressure because Ferrari has still to unveil its strategy to 2022, while Fiat Chrysler had already done it," said Vincenzo Longo, a strategist at IG Markets. "Still, the confirmation of 2018 guidance in encouraging."

Ferrari shares fell as much as 2.3 percent in Milan before partly recovering to trade 0.3 percent lower at 113.45 euros at 1:42 p.m., giving the company a market value of 21.4 billion euros.

John Elkann, the leader of the Agnelli family who controls Ferrari and Fiat, picked Camilleri on July 21, while opting to take on Marchionne’s role as chairman of both companies.

Camilleri, 63, was chairman of Philip Morris International Inc. until 2014. The cigarette maker is a major sponsor of Ferrari’s Formula 1 team, and the executive was on the board of the carmaker.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tommaso Ebhardt in Milan at tebhardt@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Vidya Root at vroot@bloomberg.net, Tara Patel, Andrew Noël

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