28th Apr 2006 10:45
Pendragon PLC28 April 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 28 April 2006 AGM STATEMENT Pendragon PLC, the UK's largest car dealership group, today held its AnnualGeneral Meeting. The Chairman, Sir Nigel Rudd, made the following statement: "Last year we produced another set of good results and continued our excellentrecord of earnings and dividend growth. We also achieved our objectives relatingto integration of acquisitions and of creating new relationships withmanufacturers whose brands we previously did not sell. We now sell 33 differentbrands of new cars and have a truly national network of outlets in the UK. Pendragon is the leading player in the consolidation of the UK car retailsector. This position has been reinforced by our acquisition of Reg Vardy plc atthe end of February 2006. We are in the process of integrating Reg Vardy withPendragon and are looking forward to realising the benefits for shareholders ofthis combination. In addition to the scale economies which will be gained, thenew enlarged business will provide a very strong platform for future growth. Trading across the Pendragon Group in the first quarter has been in line withour expectations. The market for new cars has been down by around five per cent.so far this year when compared to last year. I believe this will berepresentative of the market for the remainder of this year. We are thereforemaintaining our cautious outlook for 2006. Your group continues to enjoy the position of leader in its industry, a positionit has attained through the effectiveness of its business model and strategy,and the strong support of its shareholders." Enquiries:Pendragon PLC Trevor Finn, Chief Executive Tel: 01623 725114 David Forsyth, Finance Director Finsbury Rupert Younger Tel: 0207 2513801 Gordon Simpson This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
PDG.L