1.4. Economic Performance

Meeting our strategic goals and objectives leads to business growth and development and contributes to the local economy (through payroll and tax payments, etc.) and supports green economic development by providing sustainable mobility solutions in local communities and business segments.

Explaining the impact

Material aspect	Economic impact	Social impact	Environmental impact
Economic Performance	Uncertainties in the volatile business environment in which we operate can adversely affect our progress. The economic performance of the business depends on long-term strategic planning and the organisational culture we have created. This enables us to meet challenges and maintain organic growth for our stakeholders.	Our company's sustained economic growth contributes to the local economy through the timely payment of wages, taxes and fees, and leads to a higher quality of life for our employees and associates. Our economic performance is also closely linked to our ability to invest in various local projects, contributing to a positive impact in the communities where we operate.	The initiatives associated with our strategic environmental objectives are translated into investments that over time will be reflected in increased economic performance by reducing consumption costs and attracting new customers oriented towards sustainable mobility solutions.

Managing the impact

It was an excellent year for Autonom, the 16th consecutive year of growth and corresponds to a compound average annual growth rate (CAGR) of ~51%. We managed to increase revenues by 64%: from 394 million to 647 million lei (~130 million EUR) and net profit from 22.5 million to 57.8 million lei, 20% is from the acquisition of Premium Leasing and 80% is organic growth. As a result of the merger registered on 1 May 2022, the assets taken over from Premium Leasing contributed to Autonom Services’ total revenues for 8 months.

Financial results for the financial year 2022:

Total operating lease income: 294 million lei (+58% compared to 2021)
Total rent-a-car revenue: 105 million lei (+52% compared to 2021)
Total revenue from sales of used cars: 121 million lei (+54% compared to 2021)
Net profit for the period: 58 million lei (+157% compared to 2021)

Operating expenses increased by 60%, mainly due to the increase in fleet expenses, which increased by an average of 3,324 units, administrative expenses and salary expenses. Autonom’s operating expenses increased by 61% in 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, driven mainly by a 38.37% increase in the average number of vehicles managed.

Autonom’s total assets increased by 52% from 31.12.2021 to 31.12.2022, with a value of RON 1,394 million. The most significant increases were recorded among vehicle fleet, intangible assets, inventories, trade receivables and prepaid expenses.

Cash reserves decreased by 20%, due to investments related to the amounts raised through the bond issue at the end of 2021. Long-term liabilities increased by 41% and current liabilities increased by 108%. In terms of dynamics, the amount of Autonom Services’ financial debts as of 31 December 2022 was RON 1,106 million, compared to RON 728 million at the end of last year and up by 52%, in line with the growth dynamics of the car fleet. Equity increased by 45% and reinvested profit was 16 million lei.

As regards the method of financing the fleet through debt instruments, as of 31 December 2022, Autonom has chosen a balance between short and long-term financial debts as follows: corporate bonds (30%), financial leasing (39%) and bank credit (31%). Another important source of financing is equity, which has increased to an amount of 187 million lei from 129 million lei. To ensure a sustainable growth of the business Autonom decided not to pay dividends.

Another important aspect is meeting the financial indicators agreed with investors. The challenge in 2022 was the integration of Premium Leasing, which represented the incorporation on the results side of 8 months of EBITDA, provided the loans were fully recognised.

The EBITDA indicator level recorded a value of 3.42, up 7.54% compared to the previous period.

The 2022 financial results are the consequence of Autonom’s robust business model, built to withstand external shocks, the experience of our management team with a long-term vision and our organisational culture based on whole team involvement, continuous learning, personal development and autonomy. Since the company’s inception, the business has been run and developed in a volatile environment characterised by uncertainty and frequent changes of direction from the political, economic or social sphere.

Fees/taxes

Revenue, tax and fee transparency is part of our corporate responsibility to contribute to sustainable communities. Timely payment of taxes and duties and full compliance with legal requirements are our commitment to the authorities and the communities in which we operate.

In 2022, Autonom Services contributed to the state budget with 18.4 million lei related to the salary fund, 3 million lei related to local taxes and 3 million lei related to tolls and road taxes. As of 1 January 2022, Autonom has entered the “Large taxpayers” category.

Staff costs of 45.5 million lei accounted for 8% of total expenditure in 2022, up 36% on the previous year, driven by a 28% increase in staff and by salary increases. With business growth the natural expectation is that the percentage of salary costs will decrease as revenues increase. Given the importance we place on human resources we have chosen to increase the cost share of salaries as the business grows.

We are committed to complying with tax laws and have an open and constructive relationship with the tax authorities. In 2012, to further ensure compliance with the regulations in force, we decided to start auditing the financial statements with one of the reputable companies in the field, a practice continued annually up to date.

Autonom does not engage in aggressive tax avoidance practices, preferring not to create artificial structures to reduce taxes paid, nor does it engage in transactions without economic substance to gain tax advantages. We conduct transactions between Autonom Group companies on an arm’s length basis and in accordance with the OECD principles currently applicable.

We conduct ongoing risk analysis, analyse how financial trends might impact the company and then develop tailored strategies. We analyse and report risks twice a year as part of the audit, with the Audit Committee responsible for communicating the findings to management.

The main financial data for 2022 are shown in the table below.

Effectiveness of actions taken

	2021	2022	2022 vs 2021
Operating profit	50,872,999	95,580,968	+88%
Finance costs	-25,108,036	-35,438,580	+41%
Finance income	1,665,616	2,714,656	+63%
Other income		2,759,024
Profit before tax	27,430,580	65,616,068	+139%
Income tax expense	-4,941,208	-7,823,924	+58%
Profit for the period	22,489,372	57,792,144	+157%

For further details on the economic performance and the detailed structure related to the analysis of the financial results, please refer to the Directors’ Report 2022 at the following link.