MILAN: Italian luxury sports carmaker Ferrari on Tuesday announced an increase in its net profit for last year, but investors dumped its shares after being spooked by its debt and disappointed with the 2016 outlook.

Net profit rose at the brand with the famous prancing horse logo by 9.4 percent last year to 290 million euros.

The debt of 1.94 billion euros, the result of its spinoff from Fiat Chrysler last year and entry onto the Milan stock exchange, was considerably higher than the 1.7 billion expected by analysts.

Moreover, Ferrari expects the debt to rise slightly this year, while the increase in sales to shift down a gear.

While sales rose by 6 percent in 2015 to 7,664 vehicles, the company only expects a 3.1 percent gain this year to 7,900 cars.

Adjusted operating profit should also climb by 3 percent to 770 million euros, but revenues are only expected to rise by half that rate to 2.9 billion.

The modest outlook combined with the high debt level disappointed investors, with Ferrari shares finishing the day down 9.6 percent at 33 euros on the Milan market.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2016