Car seller Lookers anticipates record yearly profit despite vehichle shortages
New and used car seller Lookers has said it expects record underlying profit before tax ahead of company compiled market consensus of £82m for 2021.
In an update on Friday morning, the firm noted a strong balance sheet, with net cash of approximately £8.0m as at 31 December 2021, compared to £40.7m net debt in 2020.
It also reported property with a book value of £303.9m (equivalent to 77.8p per share) as of 30 June 2021.
The group is presently carrying out a review of its strategic growth opportunities and capital allocation framework.
Mark Raban, Lookers’ chief executive officer said: “2021 was an exceptional year for Lookers and we now expect to beat our previous estimates with record profit for the year. This is a great achievement by the whole team in a year which brought many external challenges, including Covid and vehicle shortages, demonstrating the strength of our proposition.
“With net cash at the year end, we have a strong balance sheet and good capacity to invest in future growth opportunities.”
Shares were up almost two per cent in early trading on Friday morning.