28th Jul 2026 11:46
(Alliance News) - Inchcape PLC on Monday hiked its dividend and increased the size of its share buyback, as it raised its guidance for organic growth in 2026.
Shares in the London-based automotive distributor were down 1.3% to 811.00 pence late Tuesday morning in London. The wider FTSE 250 index was up 0.1%.
Pretax profit was GBP124 million in the six months that ended June 30, down 33% from GBP186 million a year before, despite revenue rising 9.3% to GBP4.72 billion from GBP4.32 billion.
Gross profit increased by GBP21 million to GBP754 million from GBP733 million, but operating expenses increased by GBP70 million to GBP570 million from GBP500 million. Included in operating expenses was GBP50 million in restructuring costs, up from just GBP6 million a year before. Inchcape also paid higher finance costs and had slightly lower finance income in the recent half-year.
Basic adjusted earnings per share and diluted adjusted EPS each were steady on-year at 35.5 pence and 34.0p, respectively.
Inchcape expects more than 10% growth in adjusted EPS for the full year. The company booked 80.8p in adjusted EPS for 2025, up 13% from 71.3p in 2024. That would suggest adjusted EPS of at least 88.88p in 2026.
"Inchcape continued to deliver on our 'accelerate+' strategy during the first half of 2026, supported by our diversified and scaled market and brand portfolio, with our volume growth of 9% driven by distribution contracts won in recent years," Chief Executive Duncan Tait said.
He added: "We delivered positive momentum in the Americas, with supportive market conditions, and continued outperformance in Europe & Africa. In APAC, we saw a stabilising position in Asia, while our market share in Australia was weaker."
Inchcape repeated previous guidance for 2026 results to be second-half weighted, with an anticipated uplift in new vehicle volumes of 20,000 vehicles in July to December from 180,000 vehicles distributed by Inchcape in January to June. This is a similar volume uplift between the first and second halves as was achieved last year, the company noted. It expects organic volume growth at the top of its previous 3% to 5% guidance range.
Inchcape has upped its interim dividend by 14% to 10.8p per share from 9.5p. In addition, it has increased the size of its buyback programme to GBP250 million from GBP175 million. The buyback will continue to be run by UBS AG London Branch.
"The increased share buyback programme is part of the group's disciplined capital allocation approach and is based on Inchcape's strong underlying free cash flow performance, as well as the group's strong balance sheet. The increased buyback also demonstrates the board's confidence in the group's future prospects and ability to deliver significant future shareholder returns."
By Tom Waite, Alliance News editor
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