Quartix year-to-date trading improves despite drop in installations

Vehicle tracking systems supplier Quartix said on Tuesday that although trading had improved year-on-year during the first four months of 2020, installations had fallen throughout the period.

Quartix said new fleet installations had tumbled 25% in the four months ended 30 April - with a 60% drop in April alone.

The group warned that new installations for insurance remained limited by both installation capacity and demand but also maintained that the Covid-19 pandemic was "unlikely to have a material impact on profit and cash flow" in the first half of 2020.

The company said the resumption of some business activity in France on 11 May helped a strong rebound in the country but warned that UK vehicle mileage had fallen 54% during the week ended 3 April to its lowest point, while French mileage hit its basement after a 63% drop in the week ended 27 March.

Quartix said France appeared to be recovering at a faster pace than the UK, with average mileage levels just 9% below the group's baseline as of 22 May.

As of 0940 BST, Quartix shares were down 3.25% at 372.48p.