11:04 am, October 30, 2024
Group 1 bosses say they are ‘excited’ about the prospects of their enlarged UK operations after finalising the deal to buy Inchcape’s portfolio of showrooms.
In the American firm’s third quarter earnings report – which showed the group generated $5.2bn (£4bn) and gross profit of $852.7m (£655m) during the period – the company spoke about its expansion in the UK.
‘We continue to grow revenues through acquisitions,’ said Daryl Kenningham, Group 1’s president and CEO.
‘During the quarter, we executed strategic UK transactions which added 58 dealerships.
‘We are excited to expand our operations across the broader UK with great brands, and will continue to explore growth-oriented opportunities.
‘We remain focused on quickly and efficiently integrating our acquisitions into our existing operations to drive incremental value creation for our shareholders.’
Group 1 finalised the deal to buy Inchcape’s portfolio of dealerships in August and the acquisition is set to add $2.7bn (£2bn) of annual revenue to the group.
The American firm also acquired four Mercedes dealerships in July which they hope will add $105m (£80m) in revenue and a BMW dealership in October which will add $125m (£96m).
The company said: ‘Year-to-date, the company has successfully acquired and is in the process of integrating dealership operations with total expected annual revenues of approximately $3.9bn (£3bn).’
Group 1’s third quarter results showed the firm had set a new quarterly record for its global new and used car sales, but gross profit per unit had fallen $161 on new cars and $63 on used.
The UK accounted for 26% of the group’s new car sales during the quarter with $550m generated from new car sales and $498m from used cars.
Total gross profit generated during the quarter by the UK arm of its operations was $174.5m (£134.5m).
On average, Group 1 made £2,355 gross profit on every new car it sold and £1,204 on every used car.
The firm also recently announced former Lookers CEO Mark Raban has taken over as CEO.
Main image: Google
