Italy's Ferrari reports record first-half revenues

A day after Ferrari said its head was leaving after more than two decades, the Italian sports car brand on Thursday posted record revenues in the first half of 2014.
Net profits jumped 9.8 percent in the first six months of the year to 127.6 million euros ($165.1 million), the luxury automaker said in a statement.
And revenue surged 14.5 percent from the same time a year ago to an "absolutely unprecedented" 1.35 billion euros, helped by higher sales in the US, Japan, Australia and Britain, it added.
"It is a huge satisfaction for all of us at Ferrari to continue to achieve record economic results," outgoing president Luca di Montezemolo said in the statement.
"I'm sure that in a few months we will close an extraordinary year without precedent."
Ferrari on Wednesday announced Montezemolo would step down in October after 23 years at the helm, just weeks before the company floats in the US as part of its parent group Fiat Chrysler.
The top job at the biggest name in Formula One racing will be taken over by the head of parent group Fiat, Sergio Marchionne.
The two men had clashed over strategy, with Montezemolo reportedly hoping to keep the brand exclusive by limiting sales to some 7,000 cars a year and Marchionne pushing for higher sales.
Ferrari said Thursday it sold 3,631 cars in the first half of 2014, down 3.6 percent from a year earlier.