8:38 am, January 22, 2025
Bosses at dealer group Stoneacre have hailed last year as a ‘success’ for the business, despite the retailer’s profits sliding for the second year in a row.
Accounts recently filed with Companies House show that Decidebloom Limited – the group’s official company name – made a pre-tax profit of £16.82m in the 12 months to the end of April 2024,
The figure is more than 30% down on the previous year’s £24.84m as Stoneacre followed wider trends seen throughout the industry last year.
EBITDA – the measure by which our Car Dealer Top 100 list of the most profitable dealer groups is ranked – also dropped from £31.66m to £25.66m.
Despite the setbacks, turnover rose by 2% to £1.39bn, aided by retail sales of new cars, which increased from 24,581 units in 2023 to 26,601 this time out.
Elsewhere, used car sales declined by 0.43% to 31,395 units and overall gross margin held firm at 14%. However, gross margins in the used car sector alone dropped 11.8% as a result of ‘a significant price correction’ in the market.
Meanwhile, the company’s balance sheet has continued to strengthen, with shareholders’ funds increasing from £151m to £163m.
Reacting to the firm’s key performance indicators, secretary Nigel Wood said: ‘During the period, the group sold 26,601 new retail units (2023: 24,581 units) and 31,395 used retail units (2023 : 31,532 units).
‘New vehicle supply has returned to ‘normal’ levels following the pandemic. Used vehicles sales have remained static and margins have reduced 11.8% in the year due to the significant price correction in the final quarter of 2023.’
The year also saw the group expand its successful Stoneacre academy with the opening of an additional training centre in Doncaster and a standalone EV FGas centre in Thorne.
There was also hefty investment into the firm’s dealer network with a seven dealerships, representing five brands getting refurbished throughout the year.
In more good news, Stoneace’s vehicle auction business, based in Newark, auctioned a record 31,082 vehicles in 2024, compared to 29,271 in 2023.
‘Due to the success of our last 12 months, Stoneacre Academy has now expanded offering an additional training centre in Doncaster and a standalone EV and FGas centre in Thorne,’ Wood added.
‘During the year the company continued investing in its facilities in order to comply with manufacturers latest corporate specifications.
‘The refurbishment programme included two Kia, two Mazda, one Volvo, one Toyota and one Lexus site. All materials used in the refurbishment process are energy efficient and designed to reduce the impact the company has on the environment.
‘The company also continued installing and upgrading its EV charging infrastructure.’
Elsewhere in the accounts, it was revealed that the sale of vehicles brought in £1.25bn throughout the year, with aftersales raising an additional £1.35m.
When it came to staff costs, the firm spent £103.38m on wages and salaries with the average size of the workforce rising slightly to 2,866 people.
Meanwhile, directors’ remunerations totalling £5.38m, including £1.2m to the firm’s highest paid director.
The group ended the period with 64 locations across England and Wales and 148 franchise sales points representing 26 manufacturers.
Separate accounts for Stoneacre Limited, the ultimate parent company, show revenues broadly in line with Decidebloom Ltd at £1.39bn, but profits of £21.43m, down from £31.85m the year before.
