The losses at British supercar manufacturer McLaren have more than doubled in 2023 to a record £873m due to production delays and a decline in sales.
The GT manufacturer’s losses rose by 160pc, and its revenues dropped from £627.8m down to £465.9m in 2023.
McLaren’s decision not to sell two popular models in China was a major factor behind the 2pc drop in global auto shipments.
The F1-team sponsor’s losses have been compounded with a £375m impairment fee resulting from production delays of its £185,000 hybrid-electric sports vehicle.
The latest results show the financial challenges faced by the luxury carmaker prior to its takeover by Bahrain’s sovereign fund Mumtalakat.
The deal saw take over the entire group and also included an injection of £85m in the first quarter of 2024.
McLaren’s investors have had to invest millions of pounds in recent years to shore up the balance sheet after Covid.
Three years ago, the company’s struggles led to the sale and leaseback of the historic headquarters it had in Woking as well as the disposition of a part of its collection of classic sports cars.
In 2021, it spun off McLaren Applied into a separate company.
McLaren executives, in a presentation for their latest results to investors, said that they had a positive outlook on 2024 despite the “challenging year” as they try to turn around business.
McLaren sales in 2024’s first quarter increased from 620 to 796, a 28 percent increase over the previous year.
The company’s turnover increased from 135.2m to 205.3m in the first three months.
The company stated that it would continue to search for “potential partners” as well as explore “technical partnership with industry partners”.
McLaren was founded in 1963 and has become synonymous with British motorsport. This includes the McLaren Formula 1 Team, whose drivers include Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, and other stars.