“Marchionne Targets are Aspirational” – Ferrari CEO

Ferrari’s new CEO, Louis Camilleri recently said that the profit target set by predecessor Sergio Marchionne was aspirational at best. Unfortunately, Ferrari shares plunged to an all-time low in more than two years.

At a conference, Camilleri said that he will outline how the carmaker will try and reach the goal to double profit by 2022.

The Swiss businessman said that both he and Marchionne shared the same ambitions. He reiterated several times that the targets were “aspirational.” Also, he believes that the goals carried “risks and opportunities.”

In New York, Ferrari dropped as low as 12 percent. It was the biggest decline since February 2016. To make matters even worse, the value of the shares plummeted further to 8.2 percent. The company currently has a market value of $22.9 billion.

The slump resembles the 16 percent drop in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV shares on July 25. At that time, Fiat CEO Mike Manley cut their profit targets for 2018. The late Marchionne was CEO of Ferrari and Fiat Chrysler, which was controlled by Fiat founders – the Agnelli family.

According to the Italian manufacturer, the adjusted earnings rose to 290 million euros ($338 million). In other words, it beat their predicted estimates. The company’s target is more than 1.1 billion euros for the full year.

Now, Ferrari is depending on Camilleri to catch up and implement Marchionne’s plan. Prior to his passing, Marchionne admitted that he planned to retire from Fiat Chrysler in 2019. He had also planned to remain at Ferrari for another five years.

According to Ferrari, details on achieving their 2022 targets will be made public after Sept. 17. Marchionne’s plan was to double the manufacturer’s profit to 2 billion euros within five years.

Camilleri was handpicked by John Elkann, the leader of the Agnelli family. The Fiat founders control both Ferrari and Fiat. He opted to take on Marchionne’s role as chairman of both companies.