“While we celebrate these results, we are not taking the full year outlook for granted as we know there are still sizable risks to the year-end…
Bentley Motors has posted the company’s 2021 half-year performance with sales and profits unmatched in its 102-year history. This includes an operating profit of €178 million, greater than any profit posted for a full-year by the firm with a deep background in racing. Retail sales increased by 50% from a pre-COVID 2019 figure of 4,785 to 7,199 in 2021. On the financial side of the ledger, Bentley’s revenue for the first six months of 2021 was €1.32 billion, up from a pre-COVID figure of €834.8 million in 2019. The operating result was €178 million and a subsequent return on sales of 13%, a record high return.
These figures in context are significant: Bentley’s previous record half-year performance was in 2014, with a revenue of €887 million and an operating result of €95.2 million. That year closed as Bentley’s most successful year with a profit of €170 million. This is now surpassed at the half-year point 2021.
Sales were between its three model lines – Bentayga (2,767), Continental GT (2,318) and Flying Spur. (2,063). Bentayga maintained the number one position as full market availability was reached for the first time. Hybrid and S models have also been announced. With the introduction of the Speed during the second half of the year, it is anticipated that Continental GT sales could reach record numbers three years after introduction. The market launch of Flying Spur in China, now Bentley’s biggest sales region, contributed to the model line’s share of 29% of global sales further helped by the addition of the V8 engine. (AutoInformed.com on Bentley Bentayga Hybrid Has 24-Mile Electric Range; Milestones – 40,000 Bentley Flying Spurs)
However, “these positive results are against a backdrop of continued uncertainty which could negatively impact the second half of the year. The increasing COVID-19 numbers in many parts of the world could threaten future production in the worst-case or see further retail restrictions posing both a sales and financial risk to forecasts,” Bentley said.
“We have worked relentlessly to transform our entire organization through productivity improvements and cost efficiencies, and the double-digit return on sales is validation that we are on the right path to enable a sustainable business model,” said Adrian Hallmark, Bentley’s Chairman and CEO.
China (2,155) was Bentley’s biggest selling market for the first time in nearly a decade. The Americas (2,049) was followed closely behind with Europe delivering 1,142 cars. Both markets are anticipating the arrival of GT Speed and Bentayga S in the coming months. Asia Pacific retailed 778 cars, with Bentley’s home market, the UK contributing 554, marginally ahead of the Middle East, Africa and India on 521. Bentley’s network also increased, now covered by 240 retailers in 67 countries. (AutoInformed.com on Bentley Motors – Chinese Dealers Open With First Flying Spur Deliveries)
This year will also mark Bentley’s biggest year of new model introductions, with nine product debuts, two of which introduce hybrid power in the form of the Bentayga Hybrid and Flying Spur Hybrid, supporting Bentley’s Beyond100 path to full electrification within a decade, which likely will need to be accelerated in AutoInformed’s view. (AutoInformed.com on World’s First Electric Bentleys to be Built by Lunaz)
“While we celebrate these results, we are not taking the full year outlook for granted as we know there are still sizable risks to the year-end, notably the increasing number of colleagues having COVID enforced self-isolation periods,” Hallmark concluded.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Bentley Cautiously Posts Record 2021 Half-Year
“While we celebrate these results, we are not taking the full year outlook for granted as we know there are still sizable risks to the year-end…
Bentley Motors has posted the company’s 2021 half-year performance with sales and profits unmatched in its 102-year history. This includes an operating profit of €178 million, greater than any profit posted for a full-year by the firm with a deep background in racing. Retail sales increased by 50% from a pre-COVID 2019 figure of 4,785 to 7,199 in 2021. On the financial side of the ledger, Bentley’s revenue for the first six months of 2021 was €1.32 billion, up from a pre-COVID figure of €834.8 million in 2019. The operating result was €178 million and a subsequent return on sales of 13%, a record high return.
These figures in context are significant: Bentley’s previous record half-year performance was in 2014, with a revenue of €887 million and an operating result of €95.2 million. That year closed as Bentley’s most successful year with a profit of €170 million. This is now surpassed at the half-year point 2021.
Sales were between its three model lines – Bentayga (2,767), Continental GT (2,318) and Flying Spur. (2,063). Bentayga maintained the number one position as full market availability was reached for the first time. Hybrid and S models have also been announced. With the introduction of the Speed during the second half of the year, it is anticipated that Continental GT sales could reach record numbers three years after introduction. The market launch of Flying Spur in China, now Bentley’s biggest sales region, contributed to the model line’s share of 29% of global sales further helped by the addition of the V8 engine. (AutoInformed.com on Bentley Bentayga Hybrid Has 24-Mile Electric Range; Milestones – 40,000 Bentley Flying Spurs)
However, “these positive results are against a backdrop of continued uncertainty which could negatively impact the second half of the year. The increasing COVID-19 numbers in many parts of the world could threaten future production in the worst-case or see further retail restrictions posing both a sales and financial risk to forecasts,” Bentley said.
“We have worked relentlessly to transform our entire organization through productivity improvements and cost efficiencies, and the double-digit return on sales is validation that we are on the right path to enable a sustainable business model,” said Adrian Hallmark, Bentley’s Chairman and CEO.
China (2,155) was Bentley’s biggest selling market for the first time in nearly a decade. The Americas (2,049) was followed closely behind with Europe delivering 1,142 cars. Both markets are anticipating the arrival of GT Speed and Bentayga S in the coming months. Asia Pacific retailed 778 cars, with Bentley’s home market, the UK contributing 554, marginally ahead of the Middle East, Africa and India on 521. Bentley’s network also increased, now covered by 240 retailers in 67 countries. (AutoInformed.com on Bentley Motors – Chinese Dealers Open With First Flying Spur Deliveries)
This year will also mark Bentley’s biggest year of new model introductions, with nine product debuts, two of which introduce hybrid power in the form of the Bentayga Hybrid and Flying Spur Hybrid, supporting Bentley’s Beyond100 path to full electrification within a decade, which likely will need to be accelerated in AutoInformed’s view. (AutoInformed.com on World’s First Electric Bentleys to be Built by Lunaz)
“While we celebrate these results, we are not taking the full year outlook for granted as we know there are still sizable risks to the year-end, notably the increasing number of colleagues having COVID enforced self-isolation periods,” Hallmark concluded.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.