Morning Brief – Auto Sector: how the future looks(today)by numbers

Auto Sector: how the future looks(today)by numbers

Ferrari announced better than expected revenues at $1.02 billion, makes less than 10,000 cars a year priced between $215K and $1 M and here’s the key point, enjoys a profit margin of 24%. Ferrari has a market cap of $ 30 Billion ahead of General Motors at $29 Billion and Ford at $19 Billion both of which enjoy their 5% profit margins rather less than Ferrari. General Motors makes almost 8 million cars a year but the market has pushed Ferraris share price upwards and onwards to more than 3 times what it was when it floated in 2015. A clear case of the market preferring quality over quantity.

Lebanon: Wine

Heavily indebted Lebanon have a number of good or great industries that offer encouragement to both the Lebanese people and the IMF who are currently running their slide rules over the country before agreeing to inject some much needed funding. One of the smaller industries but nevertheless a player on the world stage is the wine industry which has 46 wineries and produces 8.5 million bottles a year of which half are exported. French grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are grown successfully as are Cinsaut, Carignan and Grenache. Internationally Chateau Musar is the best known Lebanese wine despite Chateau Kefraya growing the largest proportion of all wine production and Chateau Ksara the second largest-both worth trying and both superior to Musar. So do get on line and help Lebanon by ordering some of their very well priced and excellent wine!

Luton Airport

News that WhizzAir will be re-starting flights from Luton Airport to Portugal in June and Greece in July. Just a shame that also yesterday came the not altogether startling news that Brits in a poll earlier this week by a huge majority, want to book for one place and one place only, and that is Benidorm on the Spanish island of Majorca. It is not altogether clear just at present that which if any of these countries are going to welcome planeloads of Brits this summer, so here is Cats and their 1979 song, Luton Airport to remind us of those foreign holidays that we all like so much:

As I closed the garden gate I was really in a state
Suitcase in each hand and no transport
The taxi should have been there
He said he was on the way
I thought if he don’t hurry up i’ll miss me holiday
Finally he turned up and I told him what I thought
Then to my surprise he said sod it you can walk
I had to show a bit of leg, cause time was running out
And a geezer stopped and said
“Hop in I can take you out to Luton Airport”
Oooowe ooooo Luton Airport (x3)

When we landed in Majorca I was much the worse for wear
But with those romantic nights ahead I really didn’t care
I checked in to the hotel it must have been four star all those dolly geezers in white suits liggin round the bar
I settled in quite nicely the sun was really strong
An there they where all pullin birds an I thought it won’t be long
Sure enough he turns up thinkin he’s quite skiv you won’t believe it he’s the bloke who offered me a lift to
Luton Airport
Ooooowe ooooo Luton Airport (x3)

We had our little romance, we had our little fling
Two weeks in Majorca an he wants to buy a ring
Then I thought he’d left me at the airport on me own but it turns out he’s the captain of the plane thats going out to
Luton Airport
Oooowe ooooo Luton Airport (x3)

Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder

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