Record turnover for Arnold Clark 04 | 10 | 2016
SCOTS CAR GIANT Arnold Clark has reported record sales of £3.35 billion, an increase of 2.2%, for the 2015 year to December as used car sales soared. The Glasgow-based group also saw pre-tax profits on continuing operations grow 2.3% to £110.4m.
New vehicle sales fell 8.4% to 83,813, simply because a large fleet contract that was not renewed, but used car sales leapt 10.8% to 175,526 vehicles with like-for-like sales up 7.9%.
“This increase in used units, combined with strong residual values and an continued low interest rates were the main drivers of the increase in operating profits,” Sir Arnold Clark, chairman of the group, said.
Pre-tax profits for the year rose 2.2% to £110.3m as operating profit rose 1.7% to £121.7m, “primarily as a result of the increase in used car sales”.
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Arnold Clark Finance Ltd, which covers vehicle management and daily rental business, “once again made a substantial contribution to group profits”, with turnover up 10.7% to £559.2m.
Profits from Arnold Clark Finance fell 3.8% to £15.5m against an “exceptional” 2014 year for rentals buoyed by the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup.
Arnold Clark said it continued to invest in the 2015 year, with Inverness-based Ness Motor Group the most notable acquisition, which saw 100 staff join the group and gave Arnold Clark outlets in Inverness, Elgin and Perth.
In October the group bought a used car outlet in Burton-on-Trent. The four-acre site can display over 300 vehicles and increased the Motor Store presence in Staffordshire. And in December it opened Motorstore businesses in Chesterfield and Wigan. It now has 21 Motorstores.
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The group also completed the rebranding of its Motorstore and daily rental businesses during 2015.
The group’s web offering, ArnoldClark.com was relaunched last November and overall sales enquiries through the website rose 30.2% on 2014 on a 14.8% increase in web traffic.
Referring to 2016, Sir Arnold said: “We expect the new car market will remain static, with used cars experiencing similar growth to 2015.
“Funding remains in place to take advantage of any opportunities that may arise and to overcome any market volatility.
“Early trading results have been very promising and our strategic objectives remain unchanged, namely focusing on customer experience, product availability and widening the geographic footprint of the group.”
Sir Arnold also paid tribute to his brother-in-law, board member and “dear friend and colleague” Hugh Wallace who died in 2015: “Hugh was instrumental in developing Arnold Clark Vehicle Management and his wit, generosity of spirit and wise counsel are sorely missed.”
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Jim McGill