Caffyns sales slip

Car dealership Caffyns said pretax profit (excluding non-underlying items) was £0.78m in the year to end-March, down from £1.44m the prior year.

Profit before tax (including non-underlying items) was £1.46m (2011: £0.27m).

Basic earnings per share (including non-underlying items) increased to 51.0p (2011: 7.7p).

The Board has decided to recommend a final dividend of 7p per share (2011: 7p). Together with the interim dividend of 5p per Ordinary Share (2011: 5p) paid during the year, the total dividend for the year will be 12p per Ordinary Share (2011: 12p).

Net debt at 31st March 2012 was £8.7m with gearing of 43% (2011: £8.1m, 40%).

A 15.5% reduction in revenue reflects the closure of seven underperforming businesses in the prior year.

Like for like new car unit sales down 1.3% (compared to a fall of 7.2% in our market segment).

A £2m redevelopment of a new state of the art Land Rover showroom has been completed on time and budget.

Two businesses have closed and a further three consolidated into adjoining sites to reduce costs and enhance profitability.

Freehold properties in Brighton and Sevenoaks were successfully sold during the year.

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