North of Scotland dealer Dicksons has posted its highest ever trading profit after boosts from scrappage and its own marketing campaigns.

The dealer, which has Nissan, Kia and Daihatsu sites in Inverness and a workshop in Forres, posted its 2009 accounts which show a £495,000 pre-tax profit compared to £48,000 in 2008, as revenue climbed 15% to £16.9m.

New car sales rose by 73% to 804 units while total new and used units sold rose 27% year-on-year to 1,433 units.

In the directors' report, chairman Alistair Scrimgeour said: "The group returned an excellent performance throughout the financial year and finished with its highest ever trading profit."