MOTORPOINT, the UK's largest independent vehicle retailer, announced yesterday that profit for the first half of the year fell nearly 20 per cent as the company struggled with lower consumer confidence.

Profit at the car seller fell 18 per cent in the first half of 2019 to £9.4m, down from £11.5m for the same period last year.

However, the company saw a marginal increase in revenue of one per cent, from £528.6m to £533.9m this year.

The group's cash flow from operations grew to £25.9m, a conversion rate of 233 per cent, due to an improvement in stock days in the period. Earnings per share also fell 14 per cent to 8p, although the company did raise its dividend by four per cent to 2.6p.

Motorpoint said that although trading was currently consistent with full year expectations, the ongoing Brexit negotiations could influence its performance in "unpredictable ways".

Despite a challenging period for sales due to a lack of consumer confidence, the Derby-headquartered company said that it had made progress in improving its processes.

During the period the firm opened a 10-acre preparation centre in Peterborough, and said that a new site in Swansea would likely be launched by the end of this financial year.

Motorpoint has also made changes to its senior management team, having appointed a new chief operating officer and chief technical officer to improve the firm's IT systems.

Group founder and non-executive director David Shelton will retire from the board at the end of the year.

Shares rose 3.5 per cent to 265p.

(c) 2019 City A.M., source Newspaper