RMA (Cambodia) Plc (RMAC), which has a corporate bond listed on the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX), reported sound business performance for the financial year 2022 ended December 31, which it credited to an increase in local demand for new vehicles underpinned by a swift post-Covid-19 recovery in economic activity.

In a filing to the CSX, RMAC reported total revenues and total comprehensive income of 2.203 trillion riel ($550.813 million) and 247.669 billion riel for 2022, respectively, up 35.46 per cent and up 55.91 per cent versus 1.627 trillion riel and 158.858 billion riel in 2021.

As of end-2022, total assets and total liabilities stood at 889.295 billion riel and 451.392 billion riel, up 46.23 per cent and 40.08 per cent versus 608.160 billion riel and 322.241 billion riel a year earlier.

“As a continuation to the previous year, 2022 [was] yet another exception[al] year for RMAC. Record sales and profits [were] above budget expectation. As the Cambodian economy recovered from the pandemic, our customers progressively renewed their interest in our new products,” RMAC chairman Kevin Whitcraft said in the release.

“The year [was] also a landmark for RMAC with the launch in May of a new distributorship of the Chinese automotive brand ‘Changan’. We see promising perspectives with the 2 models – and more to come – now available for the public: [the] Changan CS35 Plus [and] Changan CS75 Plus.

“[Our] Ford assembly plant was inaugurated in June 2022 and churned out its first assembled vehicles in Q3 [the third quarter] of 2022. We are very proud of this [achievement], which created significant employment and transferred knowledge to the local workforce.

“As production increases in the factory, additional investment will be made in the facility and production lines for the Ford Ranger Wildtrak and the Ford Everest.

“As part of its strategy, RMAC invested in 2022 in new showrooms and workshops. The Ford, Agri-industry and Heavy-Equipment divisions strengthened their network[s] in” the capital and provinces of Pursat, Kampong Thom and Kampong Cham, he said.

RMAC CEO Ngorn Saing added in the filing that “this period has been pivotal in getting closer to our customers and understanding their evolving needs, and I can share that our customer satisfaction has further increased. In 2022, our investment continued in new facilities to provide the best-in-class customer experience.

“Setting my eyes on 2023, I am confident that with the vibrant energy of the Cambodia[n] economy as part of a broader dynamic Asia, RMAC can further accompany our growing customers’ demand and set itself fresh new ambitions in our key markets of the automobile, the agriculture equipment, and heavy equipment,” he said.

The filing noted that “the Cambodia car market in 2022 grew by 26 per cent compared to the previous year, at approximately 71,000 vehicles both new and used sold and registered against 57,000 units in 2021.

“New car sales have increased to above 28,000 units which represents a 43 per cent increase over 2021. The new car market in 2022 weighed 39 per cent of the total market, increasing its footprint from 34 per cent in 2021. During 2022, Ford new vehicle sales were up by 31 per cent,” it said.

According to the European Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia (EuroCham), RMAC – through its network of affiliates – “exclusively represents and manages” brands including “Ford Motor Company, Jaguar and Land Rover, Piaggio JCB, John Deere, JLG, Hako, PowerBoss, Minuteman, TCM, Megger SebaKMT, John Deere, AVIS, The Pizza Company, Swensen’s, Dairy Queen, Krispy Kreme, Bar B Q Plaza and The Coffee Club”.