Piaggio Group’s first-quarter 2025 performance was verging on tragic once more. Consolidated net revenue sank by 13.4% to £311.9m. A generalised downturn across global markets was held responsible. In Europe, the company blamed slower demand after the introduction of the new Euro 5-plus PTW standard, which drove significant registrations in the fourth quarter of 2024, followed by a fall-off in the first quarter of 2025. But market contractions were actually broader than that. The EMEA region (predominantly Europe) and the Americas declined by 17.2%. Asia-Pacific was 10.5% down and India dropped by 2.3%.
Operating profit slumped by 41% to £20.5m. Operating margin fell from 9.7% to 6.6%. Pre-tax profit was 55% down to £10.7m. Net profit more than halved to just £7.3m. Net financial debt stood at £498.8m, having risen from £419m in the same period last year. During the first quarter, Piaggio sold 78,700 scooters and motorcycles worldwide, a 13.9% decline, generating associated revenue which was 14.4% down to £238.9m.
In its dominant scooter segment, Piaggio claimed an overall European market share of 15.3% in Q1. North American share apparently reached 29.9%. The Group reported strong performance for the Piaggio Liberty and Medley high-wheel models, both of which featured completely new versions introduced in Q1 2025. In motorcycles, the market “responded warmly” to new Aprilia RS and Tuono models with 457cc engines and the Moto Guzzi V85 Enduro.
Group chief executive Michele Colaninnno was inevitably armed with long-winded excuses: “The beginning of the year was once again a time of international markets looking for stability, and ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical complexity, which we continue to counter with a prudent management approach in competitive scenarios that aren’t always favourable to European manufacturers.”
€-£ currency translation at forex rates applicable on 4 June