11:14 am, September 23, 2019
NORTHAMPTON-BASED William Morgan Group has taken a major step to climbing out of the red after latest financial figures showed it cut its pre-tax losses to £150,497 last year.
In its consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2018, the authorised BMW retailer, which has has some 300 employees in Northampton and Oxford, reported a 2.5 per cent rise in turnover from £173.6m to £177.9m, mainly via increased sales to corporate customers and aftersales.
Operating profit nearly nudged £1m – rocketing by 74 per cent from £574,611 to £999,236 year-on-year. A number of factors – including a rise of nearly half a million pounds in operating costs – took their toll, but it was still able to improve its pre-tax loss figure by 64 per cent from £422,561 to £150,497.
It made an overall loss of £250,624 for the financial year – a like-for-like improvement of 48 per cent on the previous year’s loss-making figure of £486,056.
Looking ahead, the board warned of the effect that a no-deal Brexit would have on the UK’s car market, saying prices for new cars would inevitably rise, but used car volumes could go up.
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It added: ‘There may also be short-term supply chain delays due to longer customs check and procedures at the UK borders. On a more positive note, the UK government has stated that car parts imported from the EU would remain tariff-free after a no-deal Brexit. The group is in discussion with its manufacturers on possible ways to mitigate these risks.’
The group said it would ‘continue to invest in the dealership environment to ensure compliance with manufacturer partner standards’.
With the gross profit margin improving slightly to 9.7 per cent, directors Christian Le Fevre, Terence Bramall and Martin Allard said in the report: ‘The group successfully achieved all sales objectives set by BMW (UK), securing all volume related bonuses on BMW, Mini and BMW Motorrad sales.
‘The focus remains on improving our margins through the delivery of high levels of customer service.
‘With an exciting number of new models being introduced by BMW in 2019, we have a realistic opportunity to increase our volumes and margins simultaneously, providing we maintain a clear focus on retained GP.’
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