Car seller Lookers anticipates record yearly profit despite vehichle shortages
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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.