(Alliance News) - Pendragon PLC on Wednesday reported a "strong" first half performance, citing higher gross profits in both new and used vehicles.
For the six months that ended on June 30, the Nottinghamshire-based car dealership chain said revenue climbed slightly by 1.6% to GBP1.85 billion from GBP1.82 billion a year earlier.
Pretax profit increased by 6.8% to GBP32.9 million from GBP30.8 million, as underlying operating profit rose by 0.4% to GBP52.1 million from GBP51.9 million a year ago.
The company recorded gross profits per unit in both new and used cars, underpinning 9.9% improvement in gross profit to GBP232.2 million from GBP211.2 million a year ago, "despite volume declines" it noted.
Revenue in UK Motor rose by 3.6% to GBP1.80 billion from GBP1.74 billion a year ago.
Chief Executive Officer Bill Berman said: "We have made a really encouraging start to the year which is reflected in a strong set of financial results and continued momentum across the business. We have delivered these results in the face of challenging trading conditions in our sector due to supply constraints on both new and used vehicles and the impacts of inflationary pressures."
Looking ahead, Pendragon said it is pleased with the strong start to the current financial year, as trading through July and August has remained in line with its expectations. It also said it expects to achieve annual underlying pretax profit in line with expectations.
Shares were down 1.2% at 22.72 pence each on Wednesday morning in London.
By Xindi Wei; xindiwei@alliancenews.com
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