Bentley first-half profit more than doubles, boosted by customised cars

A Bentley car is seen at the Emirates Driving Institute, which offers students to learn how to drive luxury cars, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 11, 2021. Picture taken June 11, 2021. REUTERS/Abdel Hadi Ramahi/File photo

LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) – British luxury carmaker Bentley’s first-half operating profit more than doubled, boosted by increased car customization, as sales rose sharply in Europe and Britain despite the ongoing global economic uncertainty.

The unit of German carmaker Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) on Friday reported an operating profit for the first six months of 2022 of 398 million euros ($403 million), up from 178 million euros in the same period last year, and also the full -2021 year profit of 389 million euros.

“Despite continued global economic volatility, it is promising to see Bentley exhibit financial consistency as we reinvent the company,” CEO Adrian Hallmark said in a statement.

Global sales rose almost 3% to 7,398 cars from 7,199 in the first half of 2021, while revenue per car jumped almost 15% to 213,000 euros from 186,000 as high-net-worth customers took advantage of a program to customization.

That boosted the luxury carmaker’s half-year revenue by 29% to 1.707 billion euros from 1.324 billion in the same period last year.

The company reported that sales were up 33% in Europe and 44% in the UK. Bentley did not provide numbers for its strongest market, the United States, but said China had been affected by prolonged lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic.

($1 = 0.9883 EUR)

Reporting by Nick Carey; Editing by Kirsten Donovan

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