Autohellas: 200% profit increase with € 52.4 million profit after taxes

Autohellas announces the results of 2021, presenting exceptional dynamics both in terms of Group consolidated turnover and in terms of profitability.

In particular, as the company states in a relevant announcement, in 2021 operations’ Circle increased by 30.5%, reaching € 641.6m. against € 491.7m. in 2020. The operating profit (EBIT) amounted to € 84.8m. against € 41.6m. in 2020, recording an increase of 103.6% and Profits after taxes (EBA) of the Group for the Year 2021 amounted to € 52.4m. against € 17.3 million, recording a tripling compared to 2020.

The figures for 2021, despite the prolonged lockdown during the first four months and the delayed resumption of tourism activity from June, are significantly higher than those of 2019, before the impact of the pandemic, and are a new record high for the Group.

More specifically, the turnover from the Group’s activity in car leasing in Greece increased in 2021 by 20.2% and reached € 206.4m. Long-term leases, with a strong increase in demand, supported the company during the weak and due to the lockdown AD half of 2021. During the second half, however, problems in the production of car manufacturers (lack of components) kept low the number of deliveries to customers with new contracts, but creating a very large “wallet” of pending deliveries for 2022.

At the same time, with the recovery of tourism, the activity of short-term leases during the second half of the year was almost double in turnover from 2020, but also longer than the record tourist year of 2019. The company invested, in time, in almost 4,000 new cars to strengthen the fleet of short-term rentals and possessed by far the largest, highest quality and most enriched fleet of electric cars. This investment, in parallel with the continuous upgrade of the organization and the infrastructure of the company, led to increased market shares in all the main tourist areas of the country.

The company also recorded growth in the activity related to car leasing in the 7 countries operating abroad, with a turnover of € 65.5m. and an increase of 26.2% compared to 2020. However, the activity abroad was not increased at the levels of 2019, since the recovery of tourism in these countries remained at significantly lower levels than Greece.

Overall, the fleet for short-term and long-term rentals reached 46,500 cars, with 11,050 total car purchases and the Group’s net investment (new purchases minus used fleet sales) at € 131m.

Car sales also grew strongly, despite component shortage problems that created significant delays and production constraints. The 3 wholesale companies of the Group (Imports of Hyundai, Kia, Seat) expanded their cumulative share reaching 15%, with even higher performance in the “private” market (excluding corporate fleets). The course of Autotechnica / Velmar in Retail and after sales services was also particularly satisfactory. It is worth noting that all four car dealerships of the Group, as of 31/12/2021, now operate with zero borrowing. In total, the turnover of the trade amounted to € 369.8m, recording an increase of 37.9% from 2020, while at the same time the pending orders of third parties (excluding intra-group) exceeded 8,000 cars.

Strong profitability and cash flows (EBITDA 2021: € 178.9m), allowed a small reduction in net debt (loans-less available) to € 330.8m. despite the increased investments, while at the same time the net position of the Group strengthened, reaching € 321.3m. Autohellas’s equity / foreign capital ratio is the strongest among the listed leasing companies in Europe.

The Board of Directors will propose to the General Assembly the doubling the dividend to 0.46 euros / share from 0.23 of the previous year.