Car dealer Pendragon speeds into profit as cost cuts cushion pandemic blow
British car dealer Pendragon has recovered from a pre-tax loss of £31m in the first half of 2020 to finish the year with an underlying profit of £8.2m.
Pendragon said cost cuts helped it report a profit for 2020, compared to a £16.4m loss a year earlier.
The firm attributed its recovery to online sales, as it delivered over 20,000 vehicles to customers in the first two months of 2021 despite a fresh national lockdown.
Meanwhile, revenue fell by more than a third to £2.92bn as the company reported a statutory loss before tax of £24.7m.
Bill Berman, CEO of Pendragon, said the firm’s resilience enabled it to navigate its way through a challenging year for the car retail industry.
The company accelerated its digital and click and collect services to build momentum despite the external pressures of the pandemic.
“We took early and decisive action to ensure the safety of our associates and our customers and protect the Group’s financial position,” Berman said.
“We are confident the improvements made to our business model over the past year leave us well positioned to navigate this period and accelerate our strategy during the course of the year and beyond.”