New accounts filed by the Cork-based Henry Ford & Son Ltd show that the firm increased its pre-tax profits by 140pc, from €1.5m to €3.6m, as revenues surged by €45.2m, or 15.4pc, from €293.4m to €338.6m.
The directors said revenues increased “primarily due to pricing actions and a favourable mix”.
They said the company’s 2023 wholesale volume remained flat at 12,145 units, compared with 12,197 in 2022. The total Irish vehicle market increased by 17.6pc to 154,000 units and Ford’s market share in Ireland was 4.95pc across passenger cars compared with 4.82pc in 2022.
Ford’s market share in commercial vehicles was 23.05pc compared with 24.88pc in 2022. The directors confirmed that Ford’s total market share remained the same as 2022 at 8.30pc.
“Ford was market leader in commercial vehicle sales and sixth in passenger car sales,” the directors said. They added that the increase in pre-tax profits reflects higher non-trading income from inter-company deposits as “other interest income” totalled €2.26m, compared with €112,000 under the same heading in 2022.
The company’s operating profits declined by 28pc, from €1.08m to €782,000, as cost of sales increased by 16pc – from €282.44m to €326.77m – and selling, administrative and other expenses increased by 12.5pc, from €9.83m to €11.06m.
The selling and administrative expenses included advertising spend surging from €1.85m to €2.6m, as “other” declined from €4.07m to €3.48m.
The company recorded post-tax profits of €2.84m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €774,000.
On the company’s future developments, the directors said Ford revealed the new electric Explorer and Capri – “the first in a wave of innovative new electric vehicles from Ford and forges the way for a complete reinvention of the Ford brand in Europe”.
They state that the vehicles “will be on sale in late 2024”.
Based in Cork, the company was founded in 1917 by Henry Ford and was the first location outside the US, selected because his grandfather emigrated from the county.
It is the only Ford company left that retains the full title Henry Ford & Son Ltd.
Numbers employed at the company last year remained at 17, while staff costs last year declined from €2.66m to €2.14m.