1:11 pm, May 4, 2022
Dealer group Waylands Automotive has posted record profits for the last financial year after seeing turnover go through the roof, new documents have shown.
The Reading-based firm published its annual accounts with Companies House this week and they show the company to be in fine financial health.
The group turned over an impressive £124.56m in the year ending December 31, a rise of around 30 per cent compared to the £89.04m it brought in in 2020.
Buoyed by sky-high car prices, Waylands made a gross profit of £15.95m for the year and posted an EBITDA figure of £3.82m.
Both figures rose from the Covid-hit 2020 when the company recorded a gross profit of £10.82m and an EBITDA of £2.22m.
Return on sales rose to 2.1 per cent, compared to 1.4 per cent in 2020, with the dealer group selling 1.65m units overall.
The firm represents Volvo, MG and Kia with its brands outperforming the market as a whole by four, 28.8 and 66.2 per cent respectively.
With Covid easing throughout last year, Waylands was also able to reduce its reliance on the furlough scheme, claiming £152,505.
That figure represents a drop of 75 per cent when compared to 2020, when the firm needed government assistance to the tune of £633,736.
The year also saw the firm acquire several new dealerships, taking their total to seven.
Bosses say that 2022 has also got off to a strong start and are forecasting another strong financial year.
A statement in the accounts from John O’Hanlon, CEO of Waylands Automotive, said: ‘Despite the continued challenges in the year resulting from the COVID 19 pandemic, and latterly the impacts of restricted new car supply, the directors are delighted with the group’s performance delivering its fourth consecutive year of sales and net profit growth.
‘The group entered 2021 well placed to capitalise on its acquired Volvo market areas following the full integration of additional sites the previous periods. In February, the group continued to expand, completing the acquisition of Kia Reading: the first new franchise partner for the group since 2017.
‘In August, the group opened a further location with a new build facility for Bristol Volvo and a third brand partner with MG in Oxford, taking the number of representation points to seven. Both acquisitions were immediately earnings enhancing during the year.
‘Trading has remained ahead of expectations throughout the first quarter of 2022 and the directors are forecasting good levels of profitability in the forthcoming year.
‘The directors believe the business remains positively placed to face any further challenges ahead, particularly from continued new car shortages, with sufficient cash reserves and funding facilities in place.’
