Hole lotta cost Roadside recovery profit dented by pothole damage

BREAKDOWN giant the AA has blamed a “pothole epidemic” after profits crashed by 65%.

The firm said a combination of extreme cold and snow in February and March, followed by the hottest summer in recent memory, had worsened the state of the roads.

Boss Simon Breakwell said: “All this led to a 15-year high in the number of breakdowns we serviced.

“I am proud of our achievements and to be reporting results in line with our guidance as we build resilience throughout the business.”

Revenues from its roadside arm increased 2% to £411million in the six months to July 31.

Member numbers fell by 2% to 3.2 million, although the income per customer rose 2%. The firm also has 9.6 million business customers.

Total breakdowns soared by 8% to 1.91 million in the period because of the weather. This meant the AA had to pay third-party garages to take on work because its own patrols were too swamped.

The firm said it had added 65 patrols and 200 call centre staff, which dented profits. Also profits in

Oil = $81.04 the same period last year were boosted by a one-off £34m pension credit.

In its insurance arm, motor policy numbers grew 7% to 659,000.

Group revenues overall rose 2% to £480m. However, profits plunged to £28m from £80m last year.

But Paul Grafton, regional organiser at the GMB union, said the AA was using the weather as an excuse and blamed “incompetent managers” and staff cuts for its problems. “The AA needs to start investing in its staff instead of paying its directors huge sums of money each year,” he added.