Cowie reports record score at half-time
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• A strong performance by bus and coach dealer Hughes Daf and bus operator Grey-Green has helped boost parent company T Cowie's first-half pre-tax profits from £7.75m to a record £12.11m in 1992.
Cowie's which is bidding for rival Henlys, the owner of Scarborough-based bus bodybuilder Plaxton, has reported an 11% increase in group turnover from £292m in 1991 to £323m for the first half of 1992.
Cleckheaton-based Hughes Daf contributed with a 178% increase in pre-tax profit from £349,000 to £941,000 on an increased turnover — up from £6m to £7.1m. It attributes this to the success of the Hungarianbuilt Ikarus low-floor City Bus and its after sales, finance and leasing business. London-based bus operator Grey-Green increased turnover for the half year to £6.5m, compared with £5.6m in 1991. Its pre-tax profit improved by 68% to a record £854,000.
Cowie says the results give it more ammunition in its fight to persuade shareholders to accept its Henlys bid — the deal closes tomorrow (7 August).
It is not deterred that only a small percentage of shareholders accepted its offer by the original cut-off date earlier this month: "The majority of the shareholders are institutional and they know it is rare to put in acceptances in the first offer period," it says.