Bentley warns of ‘challenging conditions’ ahead as marque levels out following 2022 bonanza
Bentley posted operating profits of €390m (£335.16m) today, down slightly on the same period in 2022, as the marque levelled out following last year’s earnings bonanza.
The luxury carmaker also saw revenues decrease slightly, posting €1.68bn (£1.44bn) against a 2022 figure of €1.71bn (£1.46bn) amid a downturn in global sales of four per cent year-on-year.
Adrian Hallmark, Bentley Motors CEO, said that the “positive results” were a reflection of a “consistent order bank amassed over the previous months and years and although our current order run rate is good, it is slightly down on the highs we reached in some of our key markets last year.”
He warned of “challenging conditions in the second half of the year,” with the firm monitoring its “supply and stock levels accordingly to ensure our quality of sales is maintained, and adjusted, if we so need as the year continues.”
Bentley’s profits soared into the stratosphere last year, with the marque posting its best ever profit of £623.7m, 82 per cent higher than 2021.
The Volkswagen Group subsidiary benefited from a shift in consumer buying patterns, with the luxury brand‘s target market floating above the major economic crises prompted by the invasion of Ukraine, coronavirus and soaring inflation.
In what amounted to a rollercoaster year filled with contradiction, Bentley also narrowly avoided potential bankruptcy, as the company depends on Ukraine for its supply of wire harnesses and faced up to 6 months of closure when Putin declared war.
China lockdowns then threatened its semi-conductor supply but, in the end, worst case scenarios were avoided and the automaker drove on to record profits.
Now it is faced with the challenge of continuing that success and today struck a more cautious tone, warning of “difficult trading conditions to follow” amid the tricky task of boosting its electric vehicle fleet and keeping up in the global race to greener cars.
That being said, half-year deliveries for its best-selling Bentayga luxury SUV, which claimed 44 per cent of total sales, and a strong performance from its latest Flying Spur sedan show demand is still ripe for Bentley’s traditional models.