New Pendragon owner Lithia UK finished 2023 by posting a profit drop of over 51% and added several new businesses to its operation.
The accounts, filed under Lithia Motors Group UK Limited after a change of name from Jardine Motors in August of this year, are for the period ending December 31, 2023, and therefore do not cover Lithia’s acquisition of Pendragon this year.
Headed by Neil Williamson, it finished 2023 with a profit before tax of £15.1m – a hefty fall from the £31.0m the business, then named Jardine, reached in 2022.
Turnover jumped from £1.64bn in 2022 to £1.89bn, however.
Drilling down further in the accounts, operating profit came to £29.8m from £36.0m the year before, with exceptional costs of £3.7m (2022: £nill) and interest costs of £11.0m (2022: £4.9m).
The exceptional costs related to £1.8m of business costs, £0.5m acquisition costs and a freehold buildings impairment of £1.4m.
New car sales jumped from 18,693 in 2022 to 24,059, while used retail and trade both rose to 19,299 (2022: 18,624) and 9,446 (8,660) respectively.
Return on sales fell from 1.9% to 0.8%, while gross profit was 8.7% – down from 9.8%.
No dividend was paired to directors during the year.
Finance director Philip Wilbraham said: ‘The group has continued to grow its top line with total turnover up 13.8% and like-for-like sales up 12.4%. In total by segment, this was new cars +22.7%, used cars +5.7% and after sales +15.0%. This growth has been driven by new car sales as the market continued to recover from post Covid shortages of vehicle due, in the main to component supply constraints.
‘Margins have decreased year on year as the used car market returned to more normal levels of supply and demand, with 2022 experiencing abnormally high used car margins on the back of new car supply constraints.’
During 2023, US-based Lithia swooped on Jardine Motors and paid an estimated £300-400m for the business.
Aside from the takeover, the company also acquired Arden Maidstone Limited, Arden Tunbridge Wells Limited and LRD Future Limited (renamed to Arden Aylesford Limited on September 13, 2023).
The companies operate a BMW and Mini dealership in Aylesford, Maidstone; a BMW, Mini and Motorrad store in Tunbridge Wells; and a repair centre in Aylesford.
They were acquired for gross consideration of £38.2m including goodwill of £24.0m.
Last year also saw the group complete its redevelopment of its Porsche dealership in Cambridge, which resulted in the exceptional impairment of £1.4m after building were demolished to make way for the new showroom.
The accounts do not include Lithia’s acquisition of Pendragon in January 2024.
The USA dealer group paid £397m for Pendragon’s dealerships and leasing division.
The buy-out added around 160 locations and brands such as Citroen, Ford, Hyundai, Nissan, Peugeot, Vauxhall, Renault and Dacia to Lithia’s new UK business.
In the 13-month period ended January 31, 2024, the acquisition generated revenues of £4.31bn.
