18th May 2007 07:01
Lookers PLC18 May 2007 18 May 2007 LOOKERS plc AGM STATEMENT At today's Annual General Meeting of Lookers plc, Chairman Phil White will makethe following statement: "I am pleased to report that your Company continues to make strong progress.Through our proven successful strategy, we remain dedicated to expanding ourcomplementary business streams through both organic growth and strategicacquisitions. Our franchise dealer network has seen a good start to the year with like forlike sales ahead of the new car market and is performing in line with ourexpectations. Our de-centralised management structure and close manufacturerrelationships continue to enable us to deliver superior returns across thefranchises we operate. We continue to see the benefits from our largelycompleted refurbishment programme across a number of our outlets. Theacquisitions made last year from HR Owen have been fully integrated, expandingour presence in the South of England, strengthening our mix of volume andprestige brands and are performing in line with expectations. Our aftersales division continues to go from strength to strength with our newFPS distribution facility in Sheffield providing a strong platform to supportfurther sales growth. To further strengthen this increasingly important part ofour business, FPS yesterday completed the acquisition of the entire sharecapital of BTN Turbo Charger Service Limited for £3million in cash. A furthermaximum of £1million will become payable dependent upon the profit achieved inthe twelve months to 30 June 2007. This acquisition broadens our offering in the growing parts distributionaftermarket, particularly in such a fast growing sector as turbochargers andwill be an important contributor to the expansion of our parts distributionoperation. Our continued success is testament to the effectiveness of our strategy and thededication of the management and colleagues across our business. The year hasstarted well against strong comparatives for the first quarter last year and isin line with the Board's expectations. We remain confident in the outlook for 2007. Enquiries: Lookers plc Telephone: 0161 291 0043Ken Surgenor, Chief ExecutiveDavid Dyson, Finance Director Hudson Sandler Telephone: 020 7796 4133Andrew Hayes/Nick Lyon/Kate Hough This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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