9th Nov 2016 08:29
LONDON (Alliance News) - Car dealer Lookers PLC on Wednesday said trading in the first nine months of 2016 remained positive, boosted by its strong used car and aftersales businesses.
Lookers said gross profit from its new cars business improved 11% in the nine months to the end of September year-on-year, though it was flat on a like-for-like basis. Fleet car margins improved in the period, but new retail car margins softened.
Lookers said gross profit from its used cars unit rose 22% and was up 8.0% on a like-for-like basis in the period, benefiting from higher lead volumes from its website and better margins.
The aftersales arm, meanwhile, saw nine-month gross profit rise 24%, or 8.0% on a like-for-like basis, thanks to increased volumes and benefits from initiatives the company put into practice in recent years, including higher sale of service plan sales.
Lookers said it has not seen a significant change in customer behaviour following the UK's vote to leave the European Union, but acknowledged this has created uncertainty for the UK car retail market. It continues to expect to make progress in the remainder of 2016 in line with market expectations.
Shares in Lookers were down 2.2% to 107.38 pence on Wednesday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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