Marshall Motor (MMH) chief Daksh Gupta credits the proliferation of personal contract purchases (PCPs) - finance packages with monthly repayments - for the relative stability of new car sales of late. Last year, the group reported a 13.1 per cent rise in like-for-like new car revenues, with volume growth of 5.5 per cent on the same basis. But PCPs are also increasingly used to finance used car transactions, with revenues here up 8.3 per cent on unit growth of 0.4 per cent. Altogether, this locks more customers into service plans, which helps explain the 5.7 per cent improvement in aftersales revenues.
These numbers pale in comparison to the total growth figures, which were helped by the group's acquisitive strategy, especially the £107m deal to buy Ridgeway Garage last May. As manufacturers pressure independent retailers to invest in their showrooms, Mr Gupta believes this could result in further M&A activity that helps larger groups like MMH.
Analysts at Investec expect pre-tax profits of £26.3m for the year ending December 2017, giving EPS of 25.8p, compared with £25.4m and 25.5p in 2016.
MARSHALL MOTOR HOLDINGS (MMH) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
ORD PRICE: | 170p | MARKET VALUE: | £132m | |
TOUCH: | 167-173p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 213p | LOW: 133p |
DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.2% | PE RATIO: | 7 | |
NET ASSET VALUE: | 188p* | NET DEBT: | 37%** |
Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2012† | 0.79 | 4.6 | na | na |
2013† | 0.94 | 10.2 | na | na |
2014 | 1.09 | 12.9 | 283 | nil |
2015 | 1.23 | 15.4 | 19.7 | 2.98 |
2016 | 1.90 | 22.2 | 23.0 | 5.50 |
% change | +54 | +44 | +17 | +85 |
Ex-div: 20 Apr Payment: 26 May *Includes intangible assets of £122m, or 158p a share **Excludes £64.5m leasing loans †Pre-IPO figures |