Skoda’s annual report marks major milestone

This year’s annual report is the 100th issued by Czech carmaker, Skoda. It was way back in April 1908 that Laurin and Klement issued their very first business statement to the world, and while the figures are vastly different, some things remain the same.

Laurin and Klement – the company that would later become Skoda – was obliged to issue the report a century ago as it had recently been floated as a joint stock company. It contained key financial information; including a pre-tax profit of 220,887 Czech crowns (Koruny). That’s just £6,880 in modern money! Compare that to 2007’s pre-tax figure of around £607million, and you see how much the company has grown.

Other interesting figures featured in the 100-year-old report include the average Mlada Boleslav worker’s wage of one Koruny per hour (just over 3p) and the list price of the firm’s entry-level ‘A’ car – 3,600 Koruny or £112. Today’s Skoda range starts at £7,900 for the 1.2-litre Fabia 1.

Something that hasn’t changed in the last century, however, is the firm’s commitment to quality and expansion into new and emerging markets, as this extract from the 1908 report shows: “An aspect that is certainly worth mentioning is that most of our sales were achieved abroad where we compete against well-established automobile manufacturers. Besides the high quality of our products, these achievements are a result of our presence at automobile exhibitions in Leipzig, Paris and Berlin.”