3 minute read - 21st March 2023
Bentley Motors reveals record financial results for 2022
Bentley Motors has revealed record financial results for 2022, with operating profits up nearly £880m* (€1bn) compared to 2018. The latest annual figures show a profit of £620m* (€708m), representing an 82% growth in profit from a four per cent growth in volume. Turnover reached £2.96bn* (€3.38bn), up 19% over the same period.
The announcement follows record sales in 2022, with Bentley delivering 15,174 cars – the first time it has retailed more than 15,000 cars in a year. The luxury car maker said the rapid financial transformation of the company underpins a future investment programme unrivalled in the luxury car sector, enabling it to revolutionise from the world’s biggest 12-cylinder engine producer to an all-electric car company within a decade.
*Bentley made the original announcement as nearly €1bn, €708m and €3.38bn in Euros – due to ongoing currency fluctuations, £876m, £620m and £2.96bn are estimates based on exchange rates on the day of publishing.
Bentley Motors has revealed its best-ever financial results for 2022, with operating profits up nearly £880m, compared to 2018 / Picture: Bentley Motors
Return on sales climbed to 20.9% in 2022, an impressive rise from 13.7% in 2021 and the highest in Bentley’s 104-year history. The increase was due to customers choosing higher specification derivatives, higher option uptake and the sale of limited editions and coachbuilt collectibles.
Adrian Hallmark, chairman and CEO of Bentley Motors, said: “Since the low point of 2018, the whole team at Crewe has been working intensively to restructure the business model, in parallel with launching successive segment leading new models and features. Last year marked a milestone in this journey. An almost €1 billion profit turnaround has been achieved since 2018 despite an unprecedented period of disruptions and crises including Brexit, Covid, semiconductor supply, Ukraine and UK economic instability.
“We have built a sustainable financial basis for the long-term, a competitive cost structure and unique market positioning, resulting in an historically strong cash generative that is providing the funding for the most ambitious race to full BEV and carbon neutrality in the luxury sector. Our order bank and order intake rate so far in 2023 show strong potential to sustain our performance, although the business environment is becoming more volatile and risk factors are increasing.”
Bentley delivered more cars than ever in 2022, the first time it has sold more than 15,000 cars in a year – all built at its factory in Crewe / Picture: Bentley Motors
Hallmark added: “We will maintain focus on customer value rather than sales volume and adapt our plan according to the emerging market situation, however our well-balanced export success, disciplined cost management structure and ability to maximise personalisation in an industrialised way, driving profitability, are good foundations to continue this success.”
The continued demand for SUVs ensured Bentayga remained Bentley’s number one model, selling more in its sixth year of sales than ever before, accounting for 42% of total sales.
The Continental GT and its convertible version accounted for nearly a third of sales, with the performance-orientated GT Speed claiming almost 31% of the model mix. The Flying Spur, a luxury four-door grand-tourer, achieved 28% of Bentley’s total sales, helped by the introduction of an environmentally-friendly hybrid.
Bentley’s latest financial results support the company’s industry-leading Beyond100 strategy, as it looks to electrify its entire product range and achieve carbon neutral status by 2030. That includes a £2.5bn, ten-year investment programme in future models and at the Pyms Lane factory in Crewe, where all Bentley models are built.
Bentley Motors employs around 4,000 people at Crewe and recently launched its 2023 trainee recruitment drive for 117 new trainees as it prepares for an all-electric future / Picture: Bentley Motors