The Pendragon car dealership group said it had a strong summer, outperforming the sluggish UK market.
It said continuing supply bottlenecks meant the total new car market in the UK was down 0.1 per cent against a 2021 average which was already well below historic levels.
The Nottingham-based business, whose brands include Evans Halshaw, Stratstone and CarStore, said however that its new car sales were up 14.2 per in July, August and September, compared to a year before.
It said margins were also up on its new car sales – at £2,597 per vehicle, which was up £743 on a year earlier.
The business said second hand car sales were down as reduced new car production continued to have a knock-on impact on used car availability.
While margins for each used car sold averaged out at a “robust” £1,561, that was down around £500 on the exception figures reported last year.
Pre-tax profits for the summer period were around £14.7 million, more than £10 million down on the summer of 2021.
The business, which turned over £3.4 billion according to its most recent annual results, is the subject of a potential takeover by Swedish vehicle retailer the Hedin Mobility Group AB, which has valued it at more than £400 million. Due diligence checks are being made as part of that process.
Pendragon chief executive Bill Berman said: "We are encouraged that the momentum we saw going into the second half has continued throughout the third quarter.
“Our agile and diversified business model positions the business well to respond to the uncertain environment, as demonstrated by the outperformance in new vehicles and the strong margin profile of the broader UK motor division.
"While supply chain challenges and other market pressures are set to persist, we are confident we have the right strategy in place to deliver for our customers and partners, and to meet our expectations for the full year."
Pendragon sold just over 46,000 used cars in the UK in the first six months of this year, and almost 24,700 new cars. That was down on the 53,900 and 30,000 (respectively) it sold in the first half of 2021.
