10:47 am, October 15, 2021
BMW retailer William Morgan Group has turned a loss of more than £750,000 to nearly £1.7m profit – helped by over £2m in furlough cash.
Accounts for the year ending December 31, 2020 filed at Companies House show that turnover at the Northampton-based dealership fell by 10.1 per cent from £199.1m in 2019 to £179m last year, which it said was mainly caused by fewer corporate sales plus the lockdowns.
Operating profit rose from £543,200 in 2019 to £2,881,207 in 2020, while 2019’s pre-tax loss of £752,629 became a pre-tax profit of £1,693,702.
The company claimed £2,239,504 in grants under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme during 2020.
Operational costs fell by £524,000 versus 2019 because of the reduced business activity, also helped by business rate relief for a lot of the year.
Gross profit decreased from £17,371,719 in 2019 to £16,946,329 in 2020, although the gross profit margin actually rose to 9.5 per cent.
The accompanying statement, signed on behalf of the board by director Christian Le Fevre, said: ‘The directors remain committed to the development of a sustainable and profitable retail motor business and believe the outlook for the year ahead is positive with further improvements in performance anticipated in 2021.
‘In this period of economic uncertainty, it is extremely difficult to make future predictions but the directors consider that the impact of Covid-19 will ultimately pass, especially with the vaccine roll-out.’
William Morgan Group cuts losses to edge nearer back into the black
Image: Google Street View
