Kwik Fit shed more than 200 jobs as its profits almost halved after being hit by higher product and energy costs during its latest financial year.
The company’s headcount reduced from 4,881 to 4,665 in the 12 months to March 31, 2023, while its pre-tax profits declined from £22.7m to £13.5m over the same period.
The falls were despite the firm’s turnover rising from £507.8m to £564.2m, according to newly-filed documents with Companies House.
Kwik Fit operates vehicle repair centres and offers tyres, exhaust, brakes, MOT texting and vehicle servicing.
It runs more than 600 centres and 200 mobile fitting vehicles across the UK and is headquartered in Letchworth Garden City.
A statement signed off by the board said: “Following the prior year’s transitional post-Covid performance, the company’s trading performance continued to improve.
“However gross margin fell by 20.84 per cent, compared to 21.46 per cent in the prior year, reflecting higher product and energy costs.
“The directors consider that this reflects an excellent performance, reflecting the resilience of the company’s market position.”
Kwik Fit added that trading during the first half of its current financial year was “satisfactory”.
It said that while “concerns remain around input cost inflation, there are indicators that this may slow in the remainder of the year.”
The company was established by Sir Tom Farmer who opened the first Kwik Fit location in Edinburgh in 1971.
Kwik Fit has been owned by the ITOCHU Corporation since 2011 but has previously been in the hands of other companies such as the Ford Motor Company and CVC Capital Partners.