Trading Statement

16 Jan 2008 12:26

Caffyns PLC16 January 2008 Caffyns plc 16 January 2008 Trading Update/Interim Management Statement Since the announcement of the half year results in November 2007, the market fornew cars has continued to grow slightly but margins have come under increasingpressure from economic weakness and competitive price cutting. The economicfactors influencing our sales include a slow down in the housing market and anadverse environment for consumer credit. Retail demand, which is the key driverof our business, has therefore been weakened and December was a particularlydisappointing month. This downward trend has continued in January. We anticipate that margins will remain under pressure for some time to come andwe now expect that our trading performance will be considerably weaker in thesecond half of the year than in the first half. As has been the casehistorically, the overall outcome for the year will be determined by trading inthe final two months of the financial year and, particularly, in March. Inlight of the current trading conditions the Board is examining a number ofinitiatives in order to improve performance. We have a number of property transactions at various stages of completion butthese are not expected to conclude in the current financial year. Theexceptional profits of £2.8 million announced earlier in the year areunaffected. Ends Enquiries: Simon CaffynChief Executive Mark HarrisonFinance Director01323 730201 For further information visit caffynsplc.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange