30th Jun 2014 16:49
LONDON (Alliance News) - Eco City Vehicles PLC Monday said it swung to a profit in 2013 as revenue increased and exceptional costs booked in 2012 didn't re-occur.
But the taxi maker warned that trading so far in 2014 has been slow, and as a result it will need further funding.
The co-developer and supplier of the London licensed Mercedes Vito taxi posted a pretax profit of GBP977,000 for 2013, compared with a pretax loss of GBP997,000 in 2012, when it suffered from GBP810,000 in exceptional costs.
Revenue increased slightly to GBP30.9 million from GBP30.5 million a year earlier, supported by market shares gains of the new taxi market.
"Strong sales of new Mercedes Vito taxis, the implementation of a rental fleet, and sharper focus on the operational performance of the business, led to another improvement in the result in 2013," said Chairman John Swingewood in a statement,
Eco City Vehicles said that trading in the first five months of its current financial year has slowed, with new unit sales of 124 units, compared with 272 units in the same period last year.
The company said that due to the difficult trading conditions, it is carefully managing its cash position, and it expects to need additional funding.
"Trading in 2014 has been challenging but we have laid the foundations for long-term growth both through acquisition and through the rental fleet. Additional funding is expected to be required in 2014 due to the trading conditions," said Swingewood.
Eco City Vehicles shares closed 7.3% lower Monday at 0.950 pence.
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; [email protected]; @rharrisdoughty
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