Shares in Spyker Cars, the Dutch supercar maker that bought Saab Automobile this year, fell the most in nine months in Amsterdam trading on Friday after cutting the Swedish unit’s production goal as the third quarter loss widened.
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The net loss was EUR39.9m compared with a EUR4.06m deficit a year earlier, Spyker said. Saab will build 30,000 to 35,000 cars this year, down from its plan in August to make 45,000 vehicles this year and an initial target of 50,000 to 60,000 cars, Bloomberg News reported.
“It’s disappointing they had to adjust the production target for the second time,” Martin Crum, an analyst at Amsterdams Effectenkantoor, told the news agency. “That’s the big negative that’s pushing the stock down.”
Saab, bought by Spyker on 23 February, resumed production in March after a break of two months, and has been focusing on setting up dealerships and introducing the 9-5 sedan. Spyker reiterated that it aims to become profitable in 2012 as Saab sells 120,000 cars a year.
The reduced target for 2010 stems from Saab taking longer than expected to recover from the plant shutdown and the reversal of liquidation proceedings, Saab CEO Jan-Aake Jonsson told reporters on a conference call. Restoring ties with suppliers contributed to delays in the 9-5’s rollout, he said.
“You will not sell product that’s not on the showroom floor,” Spyker CEO Victor Muller said on the call. “It’s been a tremendous fight to fill the pipeline. This is now finally starting to happen.”
Saab’s future is “going to be difficult,” said Crum, the analyst. “When Spyker bought Saab, the factory was totally shut down, and of course it took a huge effort to get things up and running again. On the plus side, the company reaffirmed its target for 2011 and 2012.”
