LeasePlan is looking to consolidate its position after revealing a 13.7% fall in profits compared to 2007.

However, the Dutch leasing giant still made 208 million euro and grew its lease contract portfolio by 348 million euro (2.5%) to 14.2 billion euro.

It increased the number of vehicles under its management by 76,000 - up 5.8% - to a total of 1,391,000.

Vahid Daemi, chief executive of LeasePlan, blamed the fall in profits on the downturn in the used car market and the lower interest margin due to higher funding costs.

“In view of the current economic circumstances we will for the time being slow down the pace of our expansion and focus on consolidating our market position and portfolio,” said Daemi.

“Although 2009 is expected to be even more challenging than the previous year, we are confident that our organisation is well placed to achieve satisfying results this year.”