Dealership group sees profits gain speed
Mother well-based car dealership group Peter Vardy has hailed accelerating profit in 2019, as it pivots towards being known as a mobility provider.
The business saw increased core earnings of £11.3 million, a 2.4 per cent return on sales, from £10.75m, a 2.3 per cent return on sales, in 2018.
Turnover revved up by 0.5 per cent to £471.2m, with the firm attributing the growth to robust aftersales revenue across all franchises in comparison to the previous year. Profit before interest and tax amounted to £7.3m, up from £6.7m.
They operate six volume and six prestige dealerships, two used car supermarket operations and a heritage cars dealership in Scotland, with franchised businesses representing BMW, Mini, Jaguar Land Rover, Porsche, and Vauxhall.
Overall gross profit margins remained consistent at 12.7 per cent, a “gratifying result in a market where new car margins have been under pressure as manufacturers seek to drive volume,” the firm said.
Underlying return on sales based on operating profit, a key benchmark, was 1.7 per cent, compared to 1.4 per cent in 2018 – and before amortisation and donations made to the Peter Vardy Foundation. The firm said the industry average for the same period was 0.81 per cent.
“And while the industry average profit per dealership in 2019 was £166,000, the Peter Vardy Group delivered average underlying profits of £581,000 per dealership,” the business said.
Chief executive Peter Vardy said: “We were really pleased with our performance in a challenging market and we are committed to reinvesting all surpluses back into the business for future acquisition, property redevelopment and organic growth.”