SA's largest vehicle dealer Motus says while its debt has spiked and its lost market share in passenger vehicles in the country, base effects were at play, and it's pleased with a double-digit rise in revenue and operating profit in a year characterised by much tougher competition.
Group revenue rose 16% to R106.3 billion to end June but headline earnings slipped 3% to R3.41 billion, Motus reported on Wednesday, with net finance costs surging about 172% to R1.35 billion. Its net debt also surged after acquisitions and working capital inflows into its inventory. New vehicles retailed increased by 10.4% for the year to end June, to about 541 000 vehicles, according to statistics from the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA , but Motus reported a 9% fall to 95 418. Its market share for passenger vehicles fell about three percentage points to just over 21%, with all its major brands seeing declines despite a continued trend of South Africans shying away from luxury vehicles in a tough economy.