Stratstone makes its marque to drive up Pendragon's profits

STRONG sales of luxury brands such as Ferrari, Aston Martin and Maserati, drove profits growth at dealership group Pendragon in the first half of the year.

The company's Stratstone dealership arm, which specialises in high-end brands, helped group profits jump 48 per cent to 15.7 million in the six months to the end of June.

Stratstone outperformed the market with a 20 per cent jump in new car sales, helping total revenues increase 24.1 per cent to 1.83 billion. The company's volume car retailer, Evans Halshaw - which sells brands such as Citron, Vauxhall and Ford from 127 dealerships - performed more sedately with revenue up 13 per cent.

"Total revenue has increased principally due to strong performance in new cars, with the prestige car market recovering more quickly than the volume sector," the firm said.

Pendragon said the results were consistent with a V-shaped recovery for Stratstone and a U-shaped one for Evans Halshaw.

The group reported a moderate fall in used car prices since the end of 2009 as stock shortages which led to a spike in costs during 2009 eased. The firm outstripped a 7.6 per cent fall in used car volumes across the wider market with a 15.9 per cent rise in volume sales.

Its commercial trucks dealership division, Chatfields, was under more pressure in the aftermath of recession with revenues down 31 per cent. Pendragon said the fall "further illustrates the slow recovery in the new and used truck and commercial vehicle sector". Quickco, its independent parts wholesale business, improved revenues by 4.8 per cent although operating profits reduced by 600,000.

Chief executive Trevor Finn said he was optimistic for the rest of the year.

"Assuming economic and market conditions remain stable, Pendragon is well-placed to build on its strong start to 2010," he said.