AutoWallis Closes H1 With Strong Growth

The AutoWallis Group again closed a record quarter, generating more earnings per share in the first six months of the year than in the whole of last year. A key factor in achieving this excellent result is that the company saw a significant increase in its margin generation, which was 15% in the first half of the year compared to 12% last year.

AutoWallis CEO Gábor Ormosy said that positive result can be attributed to effective cost management and good pricing measures. He emphasized that there are a number of factors behind the growth and results of the AutoWallis Group: it has a diversified portfolio of brands as well as wholesale and retail activities in 14 countries in the region that enjoy growth substantially higher than the Hungarian and EU market averages.

He also added that as the group’s strategy is based on these strong pillars, the outlook for the future is also positive, without any need to reduce expectations with the current volume of orders even despite negative macroeconomic trends.

AutoWallis’s revenue grew by 34% to HUF 131 billion in the first half, even though EU markets experienced a downturn of 14%. This growth was primarily organic and was driven mainly by the distribution business unit’s sales of Opel and SsangYong vehicles, with the sales of the Slovenian AvtoAktiv bolstering the retail & services business unit’s figures.

In the first half, the AutoWallis distribution business unit’s revenue increased by 44%, and the retail & services business unit’s grew by 22%.

Within costs, the value of cost of goods sold (CoGS) grew by 30% to HUF 111 bln, which is less than revenue figures, leading to an increase in the AutoWallis Group’s margin generation from 12% to 15% in the first half. The value of contracted services grew by 56%, again due to increases in marketing spending to support sales growth related to the import activities of the Opel and SsangYong brands, as well as in marketing and other turnover-proportionate costs connected to the increased turnover of the rental car service following the end of the coronavirus epidemic.

The 46% increase in personnel expenses was caused primarily by the increase in staff numbers resulting from the organizational development measures taken in 2021 and the salary increases provided to keep pace with labor market changes.

According to the press release, both average wages and the group’s average headcount grew, the latter by 135 persons to 821. The value of financial gains or losses in H1 was HUF 373 million in losses, which is equal to growth of HUF 262 mln compared to the 2021 base period primarily because the group accounted for exchange rate profits of almost zero in the first half of this year compared to an amount of HUF 286 mln in the base period.

In total, AutoWallis Group’s net profits grew more than three-fold (+240%) to HUF 4.1 bln, its EBITDA more than doubled (+117%) to HUF 6.9 bln, and its total comprehensive income increased almost four-fold (+281%), to HUF 4.5 bln, leading to a rise of earnings per share to HUF 9.14 (+160%), which is more than the profits generated per share in all of last year.