Pinewood lifts revenue as US dealership testing starts

Pinewood Technologies reported higher annual revenue and underlying EBITDA for the year to 31 December 2025, while testing began at Lithia's US dealerships.

Revenue rose 29.8% to £40.5 million, and underlying EBITDA increased 17.1% to £16.4 million. Underlying profit before tax edged up 3.5% to £8.8 million. Year-end cash stood at £34.1 million, up from £9.3 million a year earlier.

Growth reflected contributions from the acquisition of Seez AI, new customer wins and broader sales to existing customers. Recurring revenue reached £33.7 million, or 83.2% of total revenue.

Pinewood provides dealership software to automotive retailers and manufacturers. Net customer churn was 2.5% for the year, indicating strong retention and the extent to which its systems are embedded in customers' operations.

US push

North America remains a key focus as Pinewood works with Lithia. System testing is underway at Lithia's US dealerships and, once completed, Lithia is expected to begin adopting Pinewood's software as its central platform across its US dealer network.

Pinewood has also engaged with manufacturers that cover about 90% of Lithia's North American dealerships, and integration work is already underway with many partners. The platform has been adapted to meet customer requirements in the region.

The US rollout is closely watched because it would give Pinewood a larger foothold in a market where dealership software suppliers compete for long-term contracts and deeply integrated systems. The update indicates the group has moved from planning and customer engagement into live testing.

Integration work

Another major development during the year was the integration of Seez AI, acquired to broaden Pinewood's product offering. That process is at an advanced stage across vehicle sales and aftersales modules.

The integration has also created cross-selling opportunities across both legacy Pinewood customers and Seez customers. Management linked part of the year's revenue growth to that effort and to new business wins.

In the UK, implementation across Lookers dealerships is continuing and is due to finish in the fourth quarter of 2026. Internationally, Pinewood is also progressing work in Japan, where the rollout with Porsche Japan is underway, and Volkswagen Japan is expected to follow once that is complete.

Margins and contracts

Gross profit rose 23% to £34.7 million, giving Pinewood a gross margin of 85.7%. Underlying operating profit was £8.3 million, slightly below the £8.4 million reported in the prior period.

The group ended the year with a total contract value of £64.5 million, described as future incremental revenue from signed customer contracts. That provides some visibility into future sales, particularly as Pinewood scales up implementations that can take time to fully deploy across dealer estates.

Cash was boosted by a March 2025 equity raise and by operating cash flow. The stronger balance sheet gives the group room to fund rollout activity and acquisitions as it expands its international footprint.

After the period ended, Pinewood said the rollout of its system into Marshall Motor Group dealerships would begin in the second half of 2026, later than previously expected. It also completed the acquisition of its final reseller in the Netherlands for £3.3 million, a deal expected to add about £0.7 million to £0.8 million in annual EBITDA.

Outlook

The board expects FY26 underlying EBITDA to be in line with market expectations. It also maintained its medium-term target of £58 million to £62 million of underlying EBITDA by FY28, with around 85% of the projected EBITDA growth covered by signed contracts.

"Our second year as a standalone technology company has delivered both strong financial performance and significant strategic progress. We have continued to successfully implement our system across Lookers' dealerships in the UK, made good progress towards US deployment with a pilot programme now underway, and completed the transformative acquisition of Seez AI, whose integration with our rich data stack is at an advanced stage and already driving benefits for customers," said Bill Berman, Chief Executive of Pinewood Technologies.

"We are confident in achieving our expectations for FY26 and in delivering our medium-term target of £58-62m underlying EBITDA by FY28, supported by high revenue visibility from existing contracts and a strong pipeline of new opportunities."