Taxi Driver Online

Manganese Bronze cuts losses as sales rise

Improved margins and an increase in international sales helped Manganese Bronze to pare down its losses in 2011, and the maker of London’s black cab taxis says that it is “well-positioned” to return to profitability in 2012. The Coventry-based group, 20 per cent of which is owned by the Chinese carmaker Geely , had hoped that 2011 would be the year it broke a streak of losses dating back to 2008.

However, in January, it warned that the slowing UK economy, the European sovereign debt crisis and the delay of an order for cabs from Azerbaijan had prevented it from doing so. On Monday, the group announced pre-tax losses of £2.6m – or 9.95p per share – down from £6.3m in 2010.

John Russell, chief executive, said that as well as “a breakthrough in international sales”, Manganese Bronze had been able to cut its losses thanks to a significant restructuring programme carried out in 2010, which had improved UK margins by about £3,000 per taxi.

Manganese Bronze‘s international sales mushroomed from 226 in 2010 to 705 last year, offsetting a weaker performance in the company’s home market, where volumes dropped 9 per cent to 1,502 vehicles. Overall, revenues increased 8 per cent to £75m.

Mr Russell said he expected international sales to continue to be strong in 2012. The delayed consignment of 500 taxis to Azerbaijan was delivered in February and the company is in negotiations with the Azeri government over further purchases. However, he cautioned that difficulty in obtaining export finance would be a limiting factor.

Domestically, Mr Russell said the company would be helped by regulations that came into force in London on January 1 prohibiting the relicensing of taxis over 15 years old. Over the coming year, he said, 2,500 taxis would fall out of service.

“If you consider that we sell about 1,000 taxis a year in London, that rule change could give us quite a boost,” he said, although he added that the effect would not be felt until the second half of 2012, since many owners of old taxis had relicensed their cabs at the end of 2011 in order to prolong their working lives.

Manganese Bronze said that it had no plans to reintroduce a dividend until it returned to profitability. Shares in the company closed down 4.8 per cent on the news, at 25p, giving a market capitalisation of about £7.6m.

_________________
IDFIMH

Lovely.

_________________
IDFIMH

How much is a new 12 plate TX4 atm?
Thinking of buying one as my e7 is off and don't want to repaire it so thinking of new vehicle that's only if work picks up as its dead as anything atm.

I wonder if they are going to launch a limited edition model called the George Osbourne spec, the cab that increases in price when you really need it to discount, the cab that isn't very well built, ugly and not fit for purpose, and finally skints everyone unlucky enough to get into it.

Are you sitting down, £36000 they have gone up in price due a DPF being fitted, that needs to be given a thrashing to clear it every so often