Scrap plan boosts Pendragon
CAR DEALER Pendragon said yesterday its first-half profit has halved, but added the government’s “cash-for-bangers” scheme had boosted sales, and that the slump was coming to an end.
The UK’s largest car dealership, which trades as Stratstone, Evans Halshaw and Chatfields, reported a pre-tax profit of £8.7m for the six months to June, on revenues down 36 per cent to £1.58bn.
“Britain’s car market seems to have stabilised. There are signs that the worst is behind us and the comparisons from last year will start to help now,” chief executive Trevor Finn said.
“Used car margins have improved significantly and we anticipate growth in our sales volumes in the second half. The new car market has risen for the first time year-on-year in July, which gives us reason for some guarded optimism in this area,” he added.
The company, which trades both new and used cars, said it had seen a “significant turnaround” from losses made in the second half of last year, but admitted the market was still challenging.
Last month, new car sales rose by 2.4 per cent, the first time sales have gone up since April last year, as the scrappage scheme paid off.
But there are fears that the increase is just a blip, and that numbers will slump again when the scheme comes to an end. The initiative, which has so far generated around 155,000 purchases, is due to end next February.