Business

Pre-tax profits rise by 18% at Charles Hurst parent company Lookers

The parent company of Charles Hurst Group, Lookers has posted an 18 per cent increase in its profit before tax in the first half of the year. Pictured is Lookers CEO Andy Bruce
The parent company of Charles Hurst Group, Lookers has posted an 18 per cent increase in its profit before tax in the first half of the year. Pictured is Lookers CEO Andy Bruce The parent company of Charles Hurst Group, Lookers has posted an 18 per cent increase in its profit before tax in the first half of the year. Pictured is Lookers CEO Andy Bruce

THE parent company of Northern Ireland’s largest motor retailer Charles Hurst has posted an 18 per cent increase in its profit before tax in the first half of the year.

The Lookers motor group, which operates 153 dealerships around the UK and Ireland, has announced strong business growth across its three operating sectors; new, used and aftersales, with pre-tax profits of £50.2 million for the six months ending June 30, 2017, a jump from £42.6 million in the same period last year.

Total revenue has also increased in the first six months of 2017 to £2.46 billion, a five per cent rise on the 2016 figure. Operating profit meanwhile increased by 13 per cent to £58.1 million.

In what the company has described as an "excellent set of results" the group is now confident of further growth with a healthy order book for the month of September, a focus on investment in technology and plans to further strengthen its portfolio of sites.

"We continue to produce record levels of profit which is evidence of the success of our expansive and resilient business model," Lookers chief executive Andy Bruce said.

“We have made good progress with our strategy of having the right brands in the right locations with excellent execution and have managed our portfolio of dealerships to reflect that. Our order book for new cars for the important month of September is continuing to build in line with our expectations and the new car market for this year is still forecast to be at a historically high level. We therefore believe that the company is well positioned to continue its strong performance and deliver sustainable value to shareholders.”

The Charles Hurst Group posted a pre-tax profit of £7.7 million for 2016, but turnover fell by £50 million last year from £505.8m to £456m, which reflected the transfer of its Taggarts brand in Scotland back into the control of Lookers.