New finance boss for 2 Cheap
NZ Automotive Investments (NZAI) has announced Angus (Gus) Guerin will become its new chief financial officer from June 26, replacing Haydn Marks who leaves at the end of that month.
Guerin, pictured, will join the parent company of 2 Cheap Cars after spending a year in the same position at ArchiPro, an online architecture, design and construction platform.
Prior to that, he spent more than six years with British American Tobacco culminating in his role as director of finance New Zealand.
In an announcement to the NZX on April 28, NZAI says Guerin also has strong experience in New Zealand and abroad with blue-chip multinational companies including Fonterra, Wyndham Exchange & Rentals, which is part of Wyndham Worldwide, and Treasury Wines.
Paul Millward, NZAI’s chief executive officer, adds: “Gus will be a great addition to the leadership team. He has broad commercial experience, combined with energy, passion and a proven track record in leading finance functions that assist in delivering enhanced bottom and top-line performance.”
The company’s market update also reveals NZAI has agreed terms for a replacement trade finance facility for 2 Cheap Cars and is now awaiting final documentation.
This facility will replace NZAI’s current arrangement with ASB and will be in place by mid-May. ASB, which announced in August last year it was unable to provide any assurance of support for the company's trade finance and motor finance facilities beyond their current expiry dates, will extend the current facility to ensure a seamless transition.
NZAI has also announced it expects unaudited underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) for the year ended March 31, 2023, to be $2 million, compared with $1.7m in the previous financial year.
Unaudited actual NPAT – including one-off restructuring costs of $1m – is tipped to be $1.3m. This will be down from $2.6m a year earlier, which included one-off gains of $800,000.
Millward says: “Our new leadership team has been razor-focused on prudent cost controls, accelerating penetration rates on finance and insurance, and managing price and promotions more effectively whilst tailoring inventory to specific locations. This has seen gross margins improve significantly in the last quarter.”
NZAI notes February and March results alone make up about 35 per cent of the 2023 financial year’s underlying NPAT, “indicating a swift and marked impact”.
A detailed trading update will be issued when the company’s full results are released at the end of May.
