Bentley will celebrate the most profitable 12 months in its 102-year history at the end of 2021, with its total profits for the first three quarters alone surpassing all final full-year figures on record.
Bentley will celebrate the most profitable 12 months in its 102-year history at the end of 2021, with its total profits for the first three quarters alone surpassing all final full-year figures on record.
Year-to-date, the luxury marque has posted operating profits of €275 million (AUD$525 million), which is €105 million (AUD$167 million) more than it achieved in the whole of 2014, its most profitable year on record.
It has sold 10,934 models worldwide so far in 2021, a 46% increase on the pandemic-blighted 2020, but more significantly a 53% increase on 2019.
Sales in China, the brand’s most important market, have doubled this year, while it has also recorded huge spikes in the Americas (43%), Asia Pacific (55%) and the Middle East (55%).
The brand has yet to confirm which were its biggest-selling models, but in the past two years has launched the all-new Flying Spur, the heavily updated Bentayga SUV and various new derivatives of its Continental coupé. The limited-run Mulliner Bacalar made its public debut this year, too, and all ten models sold for upwards of £1.5 million (AUD$2.32 million) apiece.
Year-to-date, the brand has generated €1.949 billion ((AUD$2.47 billion) in revenue, a 40% increase over its 2020 takings, which were already 7% up on 2019. That’s partly down to a 14% return on sales, which compares to a loss of 4% on each sale in 2020.
CEO Adrian Hallmark said the results follow “three years of product investment and reinvention, productivity improvements and cost efficiencies.” He added that the company has recently restructured its operations and that trading conditions in the wake of multiple national lockdowns have been “favourable”, helping boost profitability.
He continued: ” Recording an operating profit in nine months that far exceeds any full-year figure in our history, alongside double-digit return on sales is validation that we are on the correct path towards a sustainable business model which is a key element of our Beyond100 strategic ambitions.
“Although a positive sign of our financial strength, our aim is unchanged, to become financially resilient and the consistent and prolonged benchmark luxury car business in the world.
“We can only do this with an unwavering commitment to close the year well, take this success into next year and continue on our journey to fully electrify our entire model range within a decade and lead sustainable luxury mobility in the future.”
Felix Page