10:23 am, August 9, 2022
Vospers saw its pre-tax profit for 2021 soar by 175 per cent from £2m to a record result of £5.5m.
The south-west England dealership group said performance was above its expectations, helped by continued growth at its new development in Exeter as well as the strength of its commercial vehicle business.
That was despite ongoing Covid challenges, including new vehicle supply being hampered by semiconductor shortages.
Newly published accounts for the year ended December 31 also show that turnover increased by 7.4 per cent to £238.9m, while EBITDA excluding vehicle depreciation went up from £4m to £6.8m – a rise of 70 per cent.
Return on sales on pre-tax profit rose from 0.9 per cent to 2.3 per cent.
Grants received under the furlough scheme amounted to £833,792 versus 2020’s £2,910,815.
Meanwhile, the average monthly number of employees went down from 610 to 567.
Director Peter Vosper said in the accompanying board report: ‘We would like to express our gratitude to the hard work of all our team during a difficult period, where they have demonstrated great resilience and outstanding customer care.’
He added: ‘We have continued to improve our digital customer journey. However, most customers have now returned to our showrooms and used our e-commerce to research their next vehicle.
‘Our objective is to provide customers with the tools so that they can decide what to do digitally or in person.’
Vosper also highlighted how well it was doing as regards customer satisfaction, which he said was ‘very important to the board’ as a key non-financial performance indicator.
Measured by reputation.com by examining reviews, its score went up from 516 to 714 versus an industry average of 601 (2020: 588).
‘We are pleased with this improvement and are continuing to work on increasing our score further.’
The new and used car dealership chain also sees positives emerging from the agency sales model, with Vosper writing: ‘The changes to dealer agreements and the move to agency will create opportunities particularly with multi-franchise groups.
‘We continue to work closely with our manufacturer partners and are in a strong position to take advantage of any franchise changes that may arise.’
As far as the current trading year is concerned, he said: ‘To the end of May 2022, we have seen a record level of trading profit ahead of last year and budget, unconstrained by lockdowns.’
Vosper highlighted the war in Ukraine as exacerbating the supply chain problem, which he said had dented consumer confidence, causing demand for used cars to weaken, which was having a short-term effect on prices.
‘On a positive note, the shortages in new car supply will still protect used car values in the medium term,’ he said.
‘We also have a significant order bank of new vehicles which will deliver further profitability later this year.’
Vospers began business in Plymouth in 1946 and has since grown to encompass 16 sites across Devon and Cornwall in Exeter, Truro, Torquay, St Austell, Threemilestone and Plympton, representing Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Dacia, Fiat, Ford, Jeep, Mazda, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault and Seat.
Together, its board of directors have nearly 200 years of motor trade experience.
Vospers’ Plymouth showrooms are pictured via Google Street View
