Pendragon losses widen after difficult 2019

Automotive retailer Pendragon reported a 3.8% like-for-like improvement in its full-year group revenue on Wednesday, to £4.51bn, although on an actual basis, that was down 2.6%.

The London-listed firm swung to an underlying loss before tax of £16.4m for the year ended 31 December, from a profit of £47.8m in the prior year.

That was heavily weighted towards the first half, the board noted, with the underlying loss in the first six months of the year being £32.2m, while the second half saw an underlying profit of £15.8m.

The company recorded a non-underlying charge of £97.7m for the year, compared to a £92.2m charge in 2018, which included a non-cash charge primarily for the impairment of goodwill, and non-current assets of £130.2m.

Its loss after tax more than doubled to £117.4m from £50.5m.

The group said it was not proposing a final dividend for the 2019 financial year, after paying 0.7p for 2018, and said its net debt was 5.1% narrower year-on-year at £119.7m.

“I am excited to have been appointed to the role of chief executive officer of Pendragon, and look forward to the prospect of leading the business through a period of rapid change and innovation in the automotive retail sector,” said CEO Bill Berman.

“Despite having only been with the business for a short period of time, it is clear this is a company with great potential and a very strong team.

“2019 was a year of transition for the group that played out against challenging market conditions, however, we returned to profitable growth in the second half and this provides us with a solid platform for the coming year.”

At the moment, erman said the company was “closely monitoring” the impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic on the economy, as the situation was continuing to develop.

“We will be providing a fuller update on the group strategy later in the year, which will continue to be based on four strategic pillars; the opportunity to create a strong, stand-alone used car brand, an improved and stable platform in the franchised UK motor division, delivering growth in Pinewood and further strengthening our leasing business.

“I am confident in the long-term prospects for Pendragon and look forward to communicating our strategy in more detail in due course.”

At 1503 GMT, shares in Pendragon were down 17.05% at 5.01p.