Bletchley advances 45%
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Your support makes all the difference.BLETCHLEY Motor, the Buckinghamshire multi-franchise car dealer, announced a 45 per cent jump in pre- tax profits in the year to December after a 13 per cent rise in the number of UK car registrations in 1993, writes Tom Stevenson.
David Dunn, chairman, warned that increased manufacturer registrations had flattered the extent of the consumer recovery in the car market. Even so, volumes at Bletchley's dealerships rose 20 per cent.
Pre-tax profits of pounds 1.77m compared with pounds 1.23m in 1992. Earnings per share were 26 per cent higher at 24.7p. Despite a 12 per cent increase in the dividend from 8.8p to 9.85p, the shares closed unchanged at 363p. They have risen more than sevenfold from the 55p low they reached in 1990 following a badly timed 200p market debut in 1988.
Mr Dunn said profits from dealerships were held back during the year by heavy capital expenditure. At pounds 593,000 they were barely up on 1992. Over the past two years the number of outlets has almost doubled from eight to 15.
Contract hire profits rose 61 per cent to pounds 980,000 after a 20 per cent increase in the size of the fleet and a reduction in interest rates. Cost cuts helped self-drive rental to increase profits fivefold to pounds 201,000.
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