Car dealership Lookers has reported revenues plummeted by more than £1bn in the first half of 2020 - but that it can now recover after a "challenging year".
In interim results for the first half of 2020 and a trading update released on Friday, the Altrincham-based dealer said the disappointing first period also saw losses of £50m - compared to 2019's £19.6m profit - a 355% drop. Revenues dropped from £2.605bn to £1.563bn, the firm reported today.
But the report said there was cause for hope - with the second half of 2020 actually expected to be ahead of last year, making up for some of the losses.
2020 was a hugely challenging year for the firm - as it completed a restructure with the closure of 12 sites and around 1,500 redundancies.
And shares in the company have been suspended since July when an investigation was launched after the business discovered potential fraud in its accounts.
In a statement on Friday, Mark Raban, CEO, said: "2020 was a challenging year for Lookers, managing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and a number of legacy issues facing the group, which required significant action to restructure and improve the business for the long term.
"Despite a resilient sales performance, the benefit of Government support and prompt action taken to manage costs, in the first half we incurred a significant loss in a very difficult period for the car retail industry.
"Although various restrictions continued into the second half of the year, trading improved significantly, benefiting from the material cost saving measures implemented earlier in the year and enhancements we have made to our retail offer, including the capability to carry out contactless vehicle sales.
"I would like to thank all my colleagues for their continued dedication in these difficult circumstances and also our OEM brand partners for their ongoing support.
"Going into 2021 there remains a high level of uncertainty in the wider environment, but we are confident that the group is now much better positioned for the longer term and can capitalise on the various opportunities ahead, not least in electrification and digital developments."
The statement added that as a result of the continued uncertainty due to the pandemic, it will not be recommending any dividends for the year ended December 31.
The board said payment of dividends will be reinstated "as soon as it believes that it is prudent to do so".
