7:02 am, October 27, 2022
Car dealer giant Group 1 announced global revenue of £3.6bn ($4.2bn) for the third quarter – the highest in the company’s history.
The American firm increased revenue by 22 per cent on the same period last year clocking up gross profit of £650m ($752m).
Its UK operations, whcih include BMW, Mercedes, Audi, VW, Seat, Skoda, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Toyota and Ford new car sites as well as a handful of used car centres in the UK, contributed £584m ($679m) of revenue.
Gross profit generated from its UK operations in the three month period was £80.2m ($93.3m).
On average, in the UK, Group 1 made gross profit of £2,980 on every new car it sold – up 19 per cent on last year.
Used car profit plummeted 32 per cent – down from £1,903 per car in the third quarter in 2021 to £1,295 this year.
Parts and servicing sales accounted for 58 per cent of the group’s quarterly profit, nearly nine per cent came from new cars and 5.6 per cent from used car sales.
Speaking about the car dealer group’s global results, chief executive Earl J. Hesterberg said: ‘Our team delivered another record quarter featuring substantial revenue and profit growth.
‘Our consolidated vehicle and aftersales revenue growth for the quarter was well over 20 per cent and our consolidated aftersales gross profit growth exceeded 25 per cent.
‘Our capital allocation also continues to fuel our strong performance with acquisitions in both of our operating markets during the quarter, bringing total revenues added to $3.1bn over the past 18 months, and our share repurchase level is now over 20 per cent of our total outstanding shares over the past 12 months.’
The third quarter results put Group 1 on course to beat its 2021 performance with revenue from its UK operations currently up 3.3 per cent in the nine months to the end of September.
Gross profit for the nine months currently stands at £248m – up 12.1 per cent on 2021, a record year for most car dealers.
In the third quarter Group 1 bought a BMW and Mini dealership and accident repair centre in the UK.
‘This acquisition is expected to generate $80m in annual revenues,’ said the firm.
Group 1 operates 203 dealerships, 273 franchises and 47 repair centres in the UK and US.
last week, Car Dealer reported that Group 1 had axed its Barons and Chandlers dealership names.
The American car dealer group says the move would provide ‘transparency’ for its customers.
The Barons and Chandlers names appear on numerous BMW and Mini showrooms across the home counties and the south coast.
