Caffyns profits hit the bumper

Motor retailer Caffyns said it had a “very challenging year” for the entire British motor sector after it witnessed a crash in new car sales.

Underlying profits for the year to 31 March came in at £1.4m, down from £2.1m in 2017, while revenues from continuing operations edged ahead 0.5%, to £213.7m.

Like-for-like new car sales were down 9.2%, while used car sales were flat.

Caffyns said the sector was suffering from a declining new car market, with new car registrations down 11% across the UK. With diesel cars, which are increasingly being targeted for their poor environmental impact, new registrations were down 26%.

The company said it had seen a “strong performance” at the very end of the financial year because of the registration-plate change. Registration numbers change each March and September and are crucial times for car dealers as drivers traditionally rush to snap up new models and plates.

But chief executive Simon Caffyn struck a cautious note: “We entered the current financial year with a stronger forward-order book than in the previous year, which is a source of encouragement, although we remain cautious about the outlook for the current year and recognise our dependence on the key trading months of September and March. “

Bottom line pre-tax profits were £1.2m against £6.3m in 2017. Profits in 2017 were boosted by a one-off gain of £4.7m following the sale of the company’s Land Rover business.