Record results for John Clark 08 | 10 | 2013
ABERDEEN-BASED John Clark Motor Group (JCMG) has reported record results for the third year in succession, with pre-tax profits up by 15.8% in 2012, from £3.8 million to £4.4m.
The group, which has expanded significantly this year, also reported an increase in turnover from £308m to £354m. In addition, operating profit before interest increased by 12% in 2012 to reach £5.7m.
JCMG — which operates a number of franchises, including BMW, Land Rover, Mini, Audi, Jaguar, Nissan and VW, in addition to Seat and Skoda — now employs more than 900 staff at 25 motor trade business in Aberdeen, Cupar, Dundee, Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Kirkcaldy and Perth. It's Scotland’s fourth largest motortrade group and one of the top 30 in the UK.
In its latest figures, the group also revealed a 20% increase in its new car sales in 2012, up to a new record of 8483 units: sales of used cars also grew by 17% to 7079 units over the same period.
In addition, the aggressively-expanding group reported record vehicle sales for September 2013 with more than 3000 units sold, representing a 36% increase over the same period last year. It's the 27th month in a row the company has seen a growth in vehicle sales across the group.
"Our commitment to providing premium brands and quality service to our customers continues to be reflected in the results that we, as a group, have realised," John Clark (pictured with Chris Clark, business development director), chairman and managing director of John Clark Motor Group, said.
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"The economic climate remains challenging, however we have retained our focus on working capital controls and the resultant cash liquidity has contributed directly to the rise in group pre-tax profit.
"Turnover in the aftersales elements of the business has also continued to increase. We have maintained our focus on implementing aftersales initiatives which focus squarely on improving customer satisfaction and retention, as well as attracting new business.
"Customer focus is also key to our continued success. Earlier this year we acquired two additional Land Rover dealerships and added Jaguar to our portfolio, thereby extending the range of premium brands we can offer our customers. We have also invested in the region of £8m as part of our commitment to Aberdeen.
"We continue to invest both in our people and our facilities to ensure we can maintain our focus on customer satisfaction thereby strengthening our position within the Scottish, and indeed the UK, automotive sector."
JCMG recently acquired four businesses from Pendragon and has invested £8m in Aberdeen, including creating a new Skoda and Seat dealerships, plus a £1m refurbishment of the company’s flagship BMW dealership. The Aberdeen expansion will also see the creation of the company's new head office operations.
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Jim McGill