Motor retailer Caffyns has announced a trading loss of £197,000
for the 12 months to March 31 2008, after “increased pressure” on
margins in the second half of the year.

This compares with an adjusted pre-tax profit of £1.3m for the
same period to March 31 2007. The chairman of Caffyns, Brian Carte
blamed the downturn on a “worsening in the economic environment…
coupled with the effects of tax increases in April 2007 and the
developing credit crunch,” along with “reducing customer confidence
and competitive pressures”.

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The cost of establishing new franchise operations and lower
margins were picked out by the CEO of the retailer, Simon
Caffyn.

However, thanks to exceptional credits of £2.8m, principally
from VAT refunds, the group finished the year with a final profit
before tax of £2.6m, a rise of 78 per cent on the result from the
previous year of £1.4m.

Underlying revenues grew by 3.3 per cent during the year to
£182m, a fair result given difficult trading conditions in the
motor retail sector.

Striking a cautiously confident note for the future, Caffyn
commented: “It is very unfortunate that the downturn in the economy
coincided with the third year of our recovery plan. However, we
continue to make good progress in establishing these new businesses
and expect significant progress this year.

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“While trading in April in line with plan, trading performance
in the year ahead is dependent on consumer confidence.”

 

 Motor Finance Issue: 44 – June 08
by Jo Tacon ,
Published for the web: June 25 08 16:39
Last Updated: June 25 08 16:40