Cost of doing business cuts profits at Pendragon
Inflationary pressures and the cost of doing business has seen profits fall at Nottingham-based car retailer Pendragon.
The firm, which is behind the Evans Halshaw, Stratstone and CarStore brands, saw its full-year surplus after tax drop by 26% to £45.5m last year. Revenue rose slightly by just under 5% to £3.62bn.
The firm said that the drop in profits was caused by a £10m headwind from around £4m of higher operating expenses which were driven by inflation and £6m of higher interest rate charges.
Despite this, the firm’s bosses said they were pleased with a “resilient” performance.
Bill Berman, CEO, said: “These results clearly demonstrate the strength of our operations, and it is all underpinned by the great strides we are making against our strategy which ensures we are well placed to meet the needs of our customers and OEM partners, and to create value for all of our stakeholders.
“We finished FY22 with good momentum, and trading has been positive in the first two months of FY23. We remain mindful of the potential headwinds from challenging macro-economic conditions. However, we continue to expect our ongoing operational initiatives and growth opportunities to more than offset operating cost inflation within the business this year and the board remains confident in the prospects for the group in 2023.”
