John R Weir profits down as margins come under pressure

John R Weir profits down as margins come under pressure

03/08/2012 in News, Dealer News

print twitter fb in
Was this article useful?

Click the thumbs up >


Scottish dealer group John R Weir saw pre-tax profits fall from £424,000 to £249,000 in the year ended October, 31.

However, sales were up from £91.5 million to £92.1m last year.

According to a report in The Scotsman the group’s profits were squeezed by smaller margins on new and used cars.

John R. Weir is a family owned company who represent Mercedes-Benz, Smart, Kia, Subaru, Isuzu and Chrysler cars (including Dodge and Jeep). It operates 16 franchise agreements across the east of Scotland.

John R Weir saw profits treble in 2010 following a jump in sales and action on costs, which puts the challenging market in perspective following its drop in profits last year.

The drop in margins has continued from 2010 when they fell across the group by 1%.




AMi Header

John R Weir

John R. Weir Ltd was a family owned company offering saleas and servicing for Mercedes-Benz, Smart, Kia, Subaru, Isuzu and Chrysler cars (including Dodge and Jeep) until it was acquired by Arnold Clark in September 2012.

The first John R. Weir showroom opened in October 1992. The purpose-built facility in Grangemouth was John R Weir’s first Mercedes-Benz franchise.

In 2002 it was awarded the Smart franchise. The Chrysler and Jeep brands were added at Perth and Inverness in June 2003 and in 2006 the brand offering was boosted by Subaru and Isuzu brands at our Perth site.

It operated five Mercedes-Benz passenger sites. John R Weir has a commercial vehicle centre in Aberdeen and a commercial vehicle workshop in Dundee.

Kia was added to its portfolio in 2010. John R Weir also caters for business users and is a Motability dealer.

It employs more than 450 staff.

The company recorded a 9.8% rise in turnover to £91.5 million in the 12 months to November 2010.

It sold 24% more new cars and 16% more used cars in the period, plus 6% more commercial vehicles.

Gross margins on new and used sales dropped by about 1%. Pre-tax profits jumped to £424,000 from £134,000, helped by cost-cutting measures, including reducing headcount to make savings on payroll.

It also moved to Barclays as its banking partner after seven years with RBS.

Read more

Subscribe To AMi

Turnover

turnover

Profit before tax

Gearing

profit guide
gearing guide

AMi enables you to:

  • Monitor the UK’s most dynamic dealers
  • Identify the fastest growing dealers
  • Assess brand relationships
  • Benchmark performance
  • Access dealer health checks
  • Assess risk and identify opportunities
  • Track dealer group activity.

AMi is available on subscription. To find out more download our digital brochure or call Julie Howard on 01733 468141 or email julie.howard@bauermedia.co.uk.


Comment:

(no need to login)

Your name:

Your email:

(will not be shown)


Please enter the code above.



Notify me when people reply

Click here to login to leave a comment

Comments (0)


poll header

Is your automotive retail group looking to increase the amount of fleet business it does this year? Please leave a comment when you vote.

YES: 50 %

NO: 50 %

Vote Now