9:28 am, January 10, 2023
Dealership group Allen Ford has seen its pre-tax profit soar nearly fourfold to £27.6m thanks to the squeeze on vehicle supply.
Latest accounts show the company – part of the Allen Motor Group – made £27.592m during the year ended June 30, 2022 versus £7.454m the year before.
Income, meanwhile, rose from £522.448m to £530.477m.
It claimed £129,000 under the furlough scheme against £2.9m the previous year and benefited from the rates holiday, it said.
The accompanying report, signed off on behalf of the board by group managing director Niall Hooper, highlighted how the ongoing global semiconductor shortage had affected new car supply across the industry, which in turn had impacted on trading throughout the business.
Shortages of new cars had meant lower volumes of part-exchanges and fewer used cars being available on the open market.
‘This has led to a reduction in the requirement for cars to be prepared for sale, resulting in lower labour sales volumes through the workshops and lower parts volumes.
‘However, the shortage in vehicle supply has led to higher margins being retained in both new and used cars,’ the report said.
‘Combined with the rising used car values seen in the first three months of the financial year, these improved margins and well-controlled costs have compensated for the lack of volume to result in a strong year of trading.’
Highlights from its current financial year, it said, included buying Delgarth Ltd for £13.7m last August, which added five dealerships in the Milton Keynes area to its portfolio.
They comprised two Kia and two Hyundai showrooms plus a Suzuki showroom.
Looking ahead, it said the main short-term risks facing it were more vehicle shortages because of global supply chain issues, as well as the pressure on spending that people were facing.
However, to ease that, it was continuing to focus on high margin retention as well as ‘gaining cost efficiency’ through online sales.
The Allen Ford group has some 30 sites stretching from Bath through the Midlands, Berkshire and London to Kent and Essex, and has more than 1,000 staff.
Pictured at top via Google Street View is Allen Ford’s Swindon showroom
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