Pendragon chairman says tough times still ahead

The UK’s number one car dealer group, Pendragon, said the UK car market was set to remain ‘challenging’ for the remainder of the year.

At the company’s annual general meeting, chairman Sir Nigel Rudd said sales of new cars had been in line with expectations for the first five months of 2009.

He added: “We anticipated, and have seen, a gradual return to more normal markets for used car sales and our after sales business continues to perform satisfactorily.”

Sir Nigel said Pendragon had kept its cost base is kept in line with activity levels in order to deliver planned cost savings this year. The company had also continued to improve its working capital management routines and maintain focus on cash generation.

“We anticipate that the UK market will remain challenging for the remainder of the year and our expectations relating to the overall performance of the group remain unchanged,” he concluded.

The company’s interim results will be announced on August 18

Source: MotorTrader