Pendragon issues profit warning
Car dealership Pendragon expects its profits to be at the lower end of expectations for its full financial year.
The group, which includes Evans Halshaw and Stratstone, has had two chief executives depart in the last year and has been hit by sluggish UK car demand.
Pendragon is expected to post a pre-tax loss on an underlying basis when it announces its results for the year to December 31 on March 18.
There are Evans Halshaw dealerships in Shrewsbury, Stourbridge, Walsall, Worfield and Wolverhampton, and Stratstone sites in Wolverhampton.
The company said that its performance had "improved significantly" during the second half of the financial year.
It said this improvement came despite challenging market conditions and weakened consumer demand in the run up to the general election in the UK.
Pendragon benefitted from actions designed to turn the company around during the period such as the closure of 22 underperforming locations, better management of used vehicle inventory and a focus on operational cost management.
"The board remains confident that the improvement in performance during the second-half puts the business on a much stronger footing as we enter 2020," the company said.
In June, chief executive Mark Herbert resigned from the company just three months after he was appointed.
