Turners reports record earnings for FY23

Used car dealer and financial service provider Turners Automotive Group has reported record earnings for the financial year ending 31 March 2023 (FY23).

The Group’s revenue rose by 13 per cent to $390 million with its Automotive Retail and Insurance divisions showing the strongest growth.

Overall, it delivered a record net profit before tax (NPBT) result of $45.5m, up 6 per cent on FY22, while net profits for FY23 came to 4 per cent at $32.6 million.

Revenue for its vehicle sales increased by 15 per cent to $278.2 million, insurance revenue increased by 8 per cent to $43.6 million, while it’s Finance division saw a 13 per cent rise to $58.6 million.

“This strong performance reflects the success of our diversification strategy, our de-risking initiatives as well the quality of our team,” says Todd Hunter, Chief Executive Officer of Turners Automotive Group.

No doubt contributing to its success in the Automotive Retail side of the business has been the ”Tina from Turners” marketing campaign which Hunter says resonated and connected with consumers in an interview with Newstalk ZB.

”Our marketing and customer service are proving successful. Turners is increasingly seen as the leading brand in the used car market and as the number of used car outlets across New Zealand continues to contract, we see further opportunity to consolidate our position.”

However, due to official cash rate (OCR) increases, Turner’s Finance Division’s profit was down 17 per cent to $15 million.

”While we are weathering tough economic conditions, we expect these headwinds to intensify before we are through the current inflation cycle,” Hunter says.

”However, we are well-positioned and will continue to look for organic growth opportunities to further our lead in what are uncertain and rapidly changing market conditions.”

Turners’ growth strategy going forward involves branching out and optimising its vehicle sales in the Automotive Division, heavily investing into its “Tina” marketing campaign, growing the Finance Division with premium lending, and seeing more distribution in Insurance.

”Looking beyond FY24, we remain confident that our FY22 to FY25 growth model is broadly on track,” Turners states.

”However, the timing of peak OCR could affect the timing of achieving our FY25 target of $50 million in underlying NPBT.

There’s good news already for FY24, with the company already showing a profit in April 2023.