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UK car dealer Pendragon profit beats, expects supply issues for 2021

(Reuters) -Pendragon Plc said on Wednesday its first-half profit topped its initial expectations, though the British car dealer sounded another alarm over supply shortages and delayed deliveries this year.

The company, like its rivals Inchcape and Lookers, has been grappling with a global shortage of semi-conductors, which has disrupted vehicle deliveries. "In line with the wider market, we are anticipating continued shortages in both new and used vehicle supply for the remainder of the year," Chief Executive Officer Bill Berman said.

In June, the company had warned that it is being forced to delay vehicle deliveries because of global semi-conductor shortages.

Pendragon said it remained confident of meeting its full-year target, which it had raised in July, of underlying profit before tax of 55 million pounds to 60 million pounds ($76.05 million to $82.96 million).

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First-half profit exceeded its initial expectations as its online business performed strongly during the pandemic-induced lockdowns, the company said, while adding that it was not proposing an interim dividend for 2021. Pendragon said customer demand remained strong, but shortages in new car supply has begun to impact the market. New car supplies were down 29.5% and 22.0% in in July and August, respectively. Underlying profit before tax came in at 35.1 million pounds for the six months ended June 30, compared to a loss of 31 million pounds last year.

($1 = 0.7232 pounds)

(Reporting by Chris Peters in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)