NOT
FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART,
DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO
DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR
REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE
INFORMATION.
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
14 February 2025
Pinewood
Technologies Group PLC
("Pinewood" or the
"Company")
Significant New Contract Award and Trading Update
Pinewood
secures largest non-associated dealership contract with Global Auto
Holdings and delivers FY24 earnings ahead of consensus
Pinewood Technologies Group PLC, a
leading pure-play cloud-based software business providing
innovative retail solutions to the automotive
industry, is delighted to announce it has
entered into a five year contract with Global Auto Holdings Plc
("Global Auto Holdings"),
to implement the Pinewood Automotive
Intelligence™ platform into all of its
owned dealerships across the UK, North America and
Scandinavia.
Global Auto Holdings is one of the
largest consumer-facing global automotive companies in the world
with over 155 franchise dealership locations in the UK, North
America and Scandinavia with an additional captive dealership
network through its automotive distribution division.
The Global Auto Holdings contract
represents the largest non-associated major dealership group to
adopt the Pinewood Automotive Intelligence™ platform and the
Company expects it to deliver significant earnings across the
lifetime of the contract. The contract is aligned with the
Company's goal set out at its Capital Markets Day to sign a further
member of the UK's top 20 automotive retailers as a customer by the
end of 2025 and expects the roll-out and revenues to commence in
the UK by 2026.
In recognition of the significant
scale of this contract and the importance of the partnership going
forward, Pinewood has issued warrants to an affiliate of Global
Auto Holdings in respect of a maximum of 6,098,093 ordinary shares
up to an equivalent of 7% of the current issued share capital of
Pinewood (the "Warrants"),
which shall be exercisable at a strike price of 330.0p (based on
Pinewood's closing share price on 13 February 2025) in tranches
subject to the satisfactory completion of the installation of the
Pinewood Automotive Intelligence™ platform into the entirety of
each relevant geography, with the equivalent of 5% for the UK, 1%
for North America, and 1% for Scandinavia.
Trading
Update
Following the announcement of the
Company's Interim Results in October 2024, momentum has remained
strong, with ongoing progress in the rollout of the Pinewood
Automotive Intelligence™ platform in the UK and a major contract
win with Marshall Motor Group ("Marshalls"). In addition, the first
stage of the Company's strategic partnership with Lithia Motors,
Inc. successfully completed in December 2024, following the
integration of the Pinewood Automotive Intelligence™ platform
across the full Lithia UK store network.
As a result, the Company now expects
that underlying profit before tax* for the 11 month financial
period ending 31 December 2024 will be approximately £8.3 million,
ahead of current analyst consensus forecasts**.
In the near term, the Company
expects the implementation of the Pinewood system into the recently
signed large customers to be weighted more towards 2026 than 2025,
to align with customer requirements.
Bill Berman, Chief Executive Officer of Pinewood Technologies
Group, said:
"We are delighted to welcome Global
Auto Holdings as a customer and key partner. We look forward to
working together and we believe that our innovative Pinewood
Intelligence Platform will help Global Auto Holdings drive growth
and unlock revenue throughout their entire dealership network.
We've now achieved our target to sign up two of the top 20 auto
retail groups in the UK and Ireland ahead of schedule, while laying
the groundwork to expand our footprint across our core
markets.
"This contract follows a highly
successful first period for Pinewood as a standalone business, and
this is reflected in our FY24 performance being delivered ahead of
consensus forecasts. This illustrates the dedication and hard work
of our employees who ensure our customers around the world receive
a best-in-class service. We are optimistic about the year ahead and
expect to continue to make further strategic and operational
progress."
Roy
Cui, Executive Vice President of Global Auto Holdings,
said:
"We are pleased to be partnering
with Pinewood and believe this collaboration aligns perfectly with
our strategic goal of becoming the leading consumer-facing global
automotive company. This partnership will enable us to drive
further efficiencies and optimize our processes for the benefit of
all of our stakeholders."
* Underlying profit before tax
excludes share of loss in Pinewood North America, LLC (North
American 'JV' with Lithia Motors, Inc)
** Current analyst consensus for the
11 month period ending 31 December 2024 is an underlying profit
before tax of £7.8m.
This announcement contains inside
information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No
596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended. The person
responsible for arranging release of this announcement on behalf of
the Company is Oliver Mann, Chief Financial Officer.
Enquiries:
|
Headland Consultancy (PR &
Communications)
|
+44 (0) 20 3805 4822
|
|
Henry Wallers
|
|
|
Jack Gault
|
|
About Pinewood Technologies Group
PLC:
First established in 1981, Pinewood
Technologies Group PLC (Pinewood) is a leading cloud based
full-service technology provider to automotive retailers and OEMs.
Pinewood's system is a market-leading automotive intelligence
platform, which has been developed collaboratively with dealers and
OEMs to provide secure cloud-based software across sales,
aftersales, accounting and CRM. Headquartered in the UK,
Pinewood has a team of over 200 people serving over 30,000 global
users across 21 countries and long-standing partnerships with over
50 OEM brands.
Previously part of Pendragon PLC, in
2024 Pinewood became an independent entity following the sale of
Pendragon's UK Motor and Leasing divisions to Lithia
Motors Inc, one of the largest automotive retailers in North
America. Pinewood simultaneously signed a strategic partnership
with Lithia to roll out its software across
Lithia's UK locations and form a joint venture to
co-develop capabilities and accelerate Pinewood's entry into the
North American market.
Important Notices
This announcement is not intended to, and does
not constitute, or form part of, any offer to sell or an invitation
to purchase or subscribe for any securities or a solicitation of
any vote or approval in any jurisdiction.
This announcement has been prepared for the
purpose of complying with the applicable law and regulation of the
United Kingdom and information disclosed may not be the same as
that which would have been disclosed if this announcement has been
prepared in accordance with the laws and regulations of
jurisdictions outside the United Kingdom.
