Inchcape set to beat profit forecasts but chip shortage looms
FTSE 250 car dealer Inchcape said that its first half performance had exceeded expectations but warned of growing uncertainty for the rest of the year due to the ongoing semiconductor shortage.
The positive performance sent the London-headquartered firm’s shares up 3.1 per cent by lunchtime on Friday.
Inchcape said that it was on track to deliver full year profit “significantly ahead” of market forecasts of £216m.
Pre-pandemic pre-tax profits for the company were £326 million and the profit upgrade is expected to come in below that figure.
Most of this, it added, will be predicated on its first half performance, due to the “high level of uncertainty” the business is facing.
It said that the semiconductor shortage, which has rumbled on for months, and shows no sign of abating, had had a “limited impact” on its operations as yet.
Thus far this year many of the world’s biggest carmakers have had to alter their production plans due to the shortage of chips, which are crucial to both electric and traditional combustion engine cars.
Global chipmakers have warned that the current dearth, which was caused in a boom in demand for electric goods during lockdown, would likely continue into next year.