Lookers the benefactor of recovering UK car market

One of the UK’s biggest motor retail groups has announced pleasing results for the six months ended 30th June.

Lookers plc, based in Stretford, Manchester, has saw its profit swell to £28.8m, up 19.5% on the same period last year.

Revenue has increased sharply to £1.24bn, up just over 20%.

This is the fourth successive year the group has reported profit improvement.

The group, which represents more than 30 of the world’s leading car manufacturers in retail and aftersales, has benefitted from strong demand for new cars in the UK.

New car registrations passed the one million mark in June, growing 10% in the first half of 2013 to 1.16m units.

Lookers chief executive Peter Jones said: “Our motor division has produced an excellent result and the parts division has performed well and returned to growth.

“The continuing recovery in the UK new car market and the recovery in our parts division gives us confidence that we can continue to grow the business, deliver improved results for the full year.”

Jones added that the turnover and profitability at our independent parts division had been affected by ‘difficult market conditions’, but the group has made significant progress with the division, improving both turnover and profit before tax to levels which are ahead of last year.

Increasing dividend payments to shareholders is a stated aim of the group. Earnings per share increased by just over 20%, to 5.52p, and, significantly for the share price, net debt was reduced to £39.1m from £48.2m the year before.