Ferrari closes the 2020 accounts, presents the 2021 guidance and turns the spotlight on the new CEO. The House of Maranello expects to close the current year with net revenues growing to around 4,3 billion euros (3,8 billion in 2019 and 3,46 billion in 2020) if there are no new Covid slowdowns. Adjusted EBITDA between 1,45 and 1,5 billion, adjusted diluted EPS between 4 and 4,2 euros, industrial free cash flow around 350 million euros: here are the indications.
The 2020 accounts exceed the guidance thanks to the leap in the fourth quarter but overall deliveries drop by 10% to 9.119 units compared to 10.131 in 2019 due to the seven-week production suspension due to the Covid-19 emergency. The other indicators: revenues -8% to 3,46 billion euros, Ebitda -10% to 1,143 billion and margin at 33%, net profit of 609 million (-13%). The Stock Exchange has reversed course and, after a very brilliant debut, is penalizing the title mid day.
The spotlight is now on the succession at the top. A man of luxury driving the Red that was owned by Enzo Ferrari and Sergio Marchionne. And he could be one of the most prestigious sons of the land that is universally known as the Motor Valley, the magical land of engines that includes Rubiera, about twenty kilometers from Maranello, the birthplace of Marco Bizzarri, François Pinault's right-hand man at Kering, the protagonist of Gucci's acceleration, whose turnover has almost tripled since it was driven by this Emilian who lives immediately beyond Trebbia, so close as to hear the sound of the engines being tested.
He could be the new pilot of the most famous and prestigious brand in the Italian industry who will take the place of Lou Camilleri, even if the Exor headquarters suggest caution. In fact, it is not excluded that today Elkann, the Prancing Horse's interim number one, limits himself to specifying the identikit of the new manager, thus starting the process of searching for headhunters which, he assures himself, has not yet begun.
Ma everything converges in the direction of a short-term choice within a triad of candidates that seems made to protect the identity of the chosen one. Together with Bizzarri, the list of eligible candidates includes Stefano Sassi, who came out of Valentino a few months ago after piloting the brand to Mayhoola, a Qatari investment fund. An old acquaintance of the Fiat group for which he worked as a consultant under the banner of Bain. Another very popular name has recently been that of Hans GS Hoegstedt, CEO of Tom Dixon, at the head of Miroglio Fashion from the end of 2016 until the beginning of 2020 after almost 11 years at Prysmian.
In any case, as Automotive News already anticipated months ago, the Drake's successor will not be a manager coming from the motor industry or, much less, from the Fiat world. And many indications converge in favor of the choice of Bizzarri, from the Accenture school, in Kering since 2005, a great protagonist of the success of Bottega Veneta and, above all, of Gucci thanks to the discovery of Alessandro Michele, the favorite designer of the Millennials.
It's these credentials that may have prompted Elkann to bank on Gonzo for replace Louis Camilleri, the former Philip Morris who has spearheaded the release of seven new models in the past two years and boosted annual sales to over 10.000 for the first time.
To orient the decision towards a man of luxury it is the belief that in the coming years the main challenge will be to combine the historic values of the Ferrari brand with the market tendency to reward environmental compatibility and a concept of sport that does not end with the search for the fastest performance.
Gonzo, or another chosen one, will have to drive the house to the electric car and guaranteeing the exclusivity of the brand in another no less delicate step: the next one debut of the SUV, a sort of betrayal of the adventurous history of the Red. Bizzarri, the man who was able to impose Gucci's fresh and slightly hipster image on the world, already a classic icon of elegance, was judged the right man to repeat the challenge with the new rich in love with Tesla's style. And it helps Bizzarri to have the blood of the Motor Valley: a son of Modena still has the love for speed in his blood. He could therefore be the man of the right choices to build a team that can finally challenge the dominance of Mercedes.
Finally, the time for choices seems appropriate. After the doubts raised by the scandals, dieselgate in the lead, and by the problems of transition to electric, the car world seems to have turned the corner, as Herbert Diess, Volkswagen's number one, has already stated. It's time for the new Red to take the field, under the guidance of a manager who knows of Lambrusco and champagne.
