2:28 pm, August 16, 2024
New and used car dealer group Riverside Motors saw its pre-tax profit rise in 2023, reversing the fall of the previous year.
Latest accounts for the dealership chain, filed as Riverside Motors Holdings, show that profit before tax for the year ended December 31, 2023 rose by £410,000 – or 7.3% – to £6.03m versus £5.62m in 2022.
That was on turnover that increased by a fifth from £209.92m to £252.2m.
Meanwhile, gross profit margin at the Car Dealer Top 100 firm, which represents Volvo, Polestar, Seat, Honda and Cupra at locations across Yorkshire, went up from 4.9% to 5.3%.
It followed 2022’s pre-tax profit tumble of almost 20% from the £7.01m achieved in 2021 on revenue that rose by a tenth.
2023 saw Volvo’s move to what Riverside’s directors termed ‘the non-genuine agency model’, and since the Swedish brand is its highest volume manufacturer partner, it meant that 1,502 units weren’t recognised in the turnover as vehicle sales, but rather in income as handling fees.
They estimated that had those units counted towards turnover, it would have resulted in a turnover increase of more than £56m, rather than the £42.3m recorded.
The average number of employees during the year went up from 220 to 253. Directors’ remuneration, meanwhile, stayed the same as 2022’s figure at £17,680.
The total distribution of dividends for the year will be £1.38m.
The group strategic report, signed on behalf of the board by director Mark Denton, stated that the company was strong financially, with £24.47m in net assets.
The directors added: ‘We have been able to seek out market opportunities which has assisted in another strong performance this year, and we continue to seek out new market opportunities as we plan to grow further in the coming months and years.’
Pictured at top via Google Street View is Riverside’s Honda and Volvo site in Wakefield
