Ferrari posts huge profits - by building fewer cars

AP

Ferrari today announced an 8% jump in trading profits to €363.5 million in 2013 - despite selling 5% fewer cars.

It's all part of the supercar maker's planned reduction in supply to keep values and demand for Ferraris rock-solid, Maranello reported. Turnover and profit all surpassed previous records, despite the reduction in the number of cars built.

In total, 6,922 Ferraris were sold around the world last year - and nearly one in 10 of those were registered in the UK.

Britain leapfrogged Germany to become Ferrari's biggest European market

British Ferrari dealers set a new record, with 677 cars delivered here - leapfrogging Germany to become Europe's biggest market.

The prancing horse is now sitting on a €1.4 billion cash pile, its biggest ever haul of capital. No doubt helped by a rise in the amount of Ferrari merchandising now sold around the world; the company now shifts €54 million worth of Ferrari caps, clothes and other ephemera in a single year.

"We wanted to maintain a high level of exclusivity, designing amazing products such as the LaFerrari, the 458 Speciale and the just-launched California T, the result of significant investment in product and technological innovation," said Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo.

In separate news today, Ferrari was named as the world's most powerful brand for the second consecutive year by the influential Brand Finance survey.

It beat off competition from some blue-chip brands including Apple, Google and Coca-Cola to be named the most A+++ rated company on the planet.

Brand Finance calculates the value of companies by working out how much it would cost to license the brand if they were acquired by outside organisations as a royalty. Ferrari beat all comers in the 2014 report to be named as the world's most powerful brand.

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By Tim Pollard, managing editor, MSN Cars