Being a world-renowned name, which is inextricably-linked to the Italian car design scene like few others, you’d expect Pininfarina to bask in the glory of their 83-year history, and not have any financial troubles. However, that would not be a fair assumption, because the company has actually been struggling for the past decade.
Most recently, in the spotlight for the creation of the Sergio concept, they announced that they were in the plus, in 2012, for the first time since 2004. They even completely shut down their manufacturing operations, in 2009, in order to steer the business solely toward the direction of design. That’s not to say they weren’t making money, they were, but they were giving most of it away, it seems, in order to repay a €182.6 million ($235 million) debt.
However, company officials signed a restructuring agreement, in April of 2012, which allowed Pininfarina to repay the loan three years later than originally planned, in 2018.
According to a report from Reuters, for 2012, they reported an operating loss of €8.2 million ($10.5 million) , and a net profit of €32.9 million ($42.3 million). For comparison, their 2011 financial statement said they had a total loss figure of €11.5 million ($14.7 million), which they had to contend with.
By Andrei Nedelea
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