12:01 am, March 17, 2023
Bentley chalked up its best ever financial results last year – making a staggering £621.8m (€708m) operating profit.
The car manufacturer has revealed profits increased 82 per cent in 2022 as the luxury car brand improved earnings by £280m (€319m).
The Crewe-based car maker delivered 15,174 cars across the world in the year, the first time it has delivered more than 15,000 cars.
Revenue reached £2.9bn (€3.38bn) as Bentley buyers bought higher spec models, added more options and snapped up limited edition and specially built cars.
Return on sales hit 20.9 per cent – an increase of 13.7 per cent on 2021 – and the highest in the brand’s 104-year history.
Speaking to Car Dealer about the record profitability, Jan-Henrik Lafrentz, Bentley’s member of the board for finance, said: ‘Very clearly, the main driver [of the company’s profit] is the value per car.
‘We are in the market where we offer interesting options, interesting specifications, interesting versions of personalisation to our customers, and they’re happy to step in, they’re happy to go that route.’
Lafrentz said Bentley had benefited from a decent supply of microchips when other brands suffered poor supply which helped Bentley continue to make its highly profitable products.
He also explained that Bentley had been well sheltered from the cost of living crisis in the UK thanks to its global presence, where inflationary pressures have not been felt quite as much.
He added: ‘We have the advantage that we have a really balanced global footprint. Our volume, our contribution margin and profits are equally distributed around the world.
‘So we can balance and, if the UK is a bit weaker, we can have stronger demand in the US or China. So that’s a big, big advantage.
‘In UK, it’s a bit weaker, but I must admit, the cost of living crisis on the customer side is not affecting us that much.’
Bentley is now gearing up for an electric future as it steps away from its past as the world’s largest 12-cylinder engine maker.
The brand is planning to launch five electric vehicles in five years, starting in 2026, and will be investing £2.6m (€3bn) over 10 years in its UK factory.
SUV demand helped drive profits for the group with the Bentayga SUV accounting for 42 per cent of the total volume – in its sixth year since launch.
The Continental GT and Convertible accounted for a third of sales and the Flying Spur a further third.
In a statement, Adrian Hallmark, chairman and CEO of Bentley Motors, added: ‘Since the low point of 2018, the whole team at Crewe has been working intensively to restructure the business model, in parallel with launching successive segment-leading new models and features.
‘Last year marked a milestone in this journey. An almost €1bn profit turnaround has been achieved since 2018 despite an unprecedented period of disruptions and crises including Brexit, Covid, Semiconductor supply, Ukraine and UK economic instability.
‘We have built a sustainable financial basis for the long-term, a competitive cost structure and unique market positioning, resulting in an historically strong cash generative that is providing the funding for the most ambitious race to full BEV and carbon neutrality in the luxury sector.
‘Our order bank and order intake rate so far in 2023 show strong potential to sustain our performance, although the business environment is becoming more volatile and risk factors are increasing.’
