8th May 2019 09:14
LONDON (Alliance News) - Car dealer Vertu Motors PLC on Wednesday said it has beaten full-year profit expectations, with growth strong in both aftersales and used vehicles.
Vertu's pretax profit dipped to GBP25.3 million from GBP30.4 million for the 12 months to February, and on adjusted basis it fell to GBP23.7 million from GBP28.6 million. However, Vertu said this was ahead of market expectations.
Vertu's revenue rose to GBP2.98 billion from GBP2.80 billion, and like-for-like revenue rose 5.1%.
The company will pay a final dividend of 1.05 pence a share. This takes the total to 1.60p for the year, up 6.7% on the previous year.
Looking at the automotive market, things have been challenging and Vertu expects this to continue due both to political uncertainty and regulatory attention on issues such as emissions.
New retail vehicle volumes were flat year-on-year, despite a 5.3% fall in registrations. Fleet new cars fell 17% compared to a 7.5% fall in registrations, motability fell 9.0% versus 3.1%, but commercial new vehicles rose 1.8% versus a 0.8% decline.
Vertu's new vehicle revenue rose 3.2%, used by 14%, fleet & commercial fell 2.7%, and aftersales revenue climbed 13%.
"By executing the basic fundamentals well, and with our strong financial position, Vertu will continue to generate significant and growing levels of cash. Over the last three years, we have invested over GBP85.0 million in our capex programme across our dealership estate," said Chief Executive Robert Forrester.
"This programme is now coming to an end and we would expect to generate increased levels of cash which, through our disciplined capital allocation framework, we will invest in operations, acquisitions and dividends as well as share buybacks, where appropriate," he added.
In March and April, Vertu has met expectations, and it is overall confident looking ahead.
Vertu shares were 2.0% higher on Wednesday at a price of 35.70 pence each.
Related Shares:
Vertu