HR Owen sees profit drive forward as London showroom sells more Ferraris
LUXURY car dealer HR Owen doubled its profits in the first half of 2011 but has cut its dividend by 75 per cent.
The company said it had grown new car sales and improved used car margins but was going to cut its dividend to help fund its new growth strategy.
Profit before tax leapt to £1.7m in the first half of 2011, with the firm saying it was particularly pleased with sales of Ferraris and Bentleys.
It sold 277 cars in the first half, up from 240 a year ago.
But it cut its interim dividend to 0.5p, compared with a 2p dividend last year.
Meanwhile HR Owen’s Ferrari showroom in Knightsbridge, which open last May, has been performing well.
Chief executive Andy Duncan said: “People who come to the Atelier [Knightsbridge] are upgrading more and Ferrari, where demand still outstrips supply, has allocated us a lot more cars this year.”