4 months ago
New and used car dealership chain John Clark Motor Group saw its pre-tax profit fall by nearly a tenth last year despite turnover soaring past the £1bn mark.
In its accounts for the year ended December 31, 2023, which were published on Companies House on Friday (Sep 6) under the name John Clark (Holdings), the family-run Car Dealer Top 100 firm, which has a network of franchised and used vehicle dealerships plus accident repair centres across Scotland, reported a revenue rise of 13% from £914.3m in 2022 to £1.03bn.
New vehicle sales went up from 11,308 units to 13,428, while used sales enjoyed a slight increase from 18,304 to 18,412 units.
Aftersales did particularly well, with revenue rising from £85.8m to £94.9m – up by 10.6% – and Ebitda rose by 4.2% from £33.76m to £35.18m, but it still didn’t stop profit before tax sinking by 9.7% from £25.31m to £22.86m.
A dividend of £1.3m was approved during the year, versus £780,000 in 2022.
‘Despite significant adverse used car market pricing changes in the latter months, 2023 as a whole saw strong trading positives and the continuation of a robust positive cash at bank position,’ the outfit said in a press release.
Cash at the bank as of December 31 was £24.65m versus £26.19m in 2022.
That, it said, also allowed it to convert its extended temporary cost-of-living support measures of 2022 into permanent wage reviews for employees.
Staff headcount rose by 51 to a full-year average of 1,355, and it highlighted its investment in apprentice, colleague development and staff benefits programmes.
Directors’ remuneration went down from £2,281,410 to £2,025,878 – a drop of 11.2% – with the highest-paid director taking a pay cut of 16.5% from £902,413 to £753,454.
In the strategic report, signed on behalf of the board by MD Chris Clark, pictured at top, the company highlighted challenges and delays in new vehicle product supply.
In addition, fuel plus heat, light and power saw high charges, while stocking interest costs rose as both the bank base rate and its stock volumes increased.
Clark said: ‘I am clearly very happy to report further year-on-year gains continuing to build on our success of previous years.
‘Our teams can once again celebrate playing their part in what has been another great year for the group, and we remain incredibly grateful for all the hard work and effort that each one of our colleagues puts into their roles.
‘I know we have one of the best teams in the industry and I am very proud to be part of it.’
Looking ahead, Clark said: ‘Despite some notable headwinds and an again ever-changing market, we continue to deliver growth in what is now our 50th-anniversary year.
‘Whilst our mid-year results are in line with expectations, as many others across most industries will recognise, it is a year where we are working harder to sell more but earn less.
‘That said, our financial resources remain strong, well balanced and sufficient to support the business today and allow growth in the future as we actively pursue several acquisition opportunities.’
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