Nationwide Accident Repair Services (NARS) maintained its market share last year, thanks in part to 21.1 per cent like-for-like growth in fleet sales to £35.2m and a 53 per cent jump in retail sales to £4.7m. This is where the group provides accident management services for insurance companies and fleet operators. With continued improvements in operational efficiency, underlying profit before non-recurring items grew 9.2 per cent in 2012 to £6.8m.
Still, turnover did fall in 2012 - largely reflecting the closure of some accident repair centres. But, even on a like-for-like basis, revenue fell 3 per cent to £155.9m - that's because motorists aren't driving as many miles these days, so there are fewer accident claims. The group also suffered the loss of a significant contract with Aviva. Vehicle claims frequency continued to decline, too - further exacerbating overcapacity in the automotive repair market. However, previous site closures helped to reduce overheads by £5.9m to £48.5m, which left gross margins ahead slightly at 35.5 per cent. There was also no repeat of the £8m of exceptional costs that resulted in a headline loss in 2011
Broker Westhouse has reduced its 2013 forecasts - it has cut its pre-tax profit estimate by £450,000 to £5.2m, giving EPS of 9.3p (from 9.9p in 2012).
NATIONWIDE ACCIDENT REPAIR SERVICES (NARS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 66p | MARKET VALUE: | £28.5m | |
| TOUCH: | 64-68p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 72p | LOW: 58p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 8.3% | PE RATIO: | 7 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 1.6p* | NET DEBT: | £5.1m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 179 | 7.00 | 11.6 | 5.00 |
| 2009 | 171 | 5.10 | 8.40 | 5.00 |
| 2010 | 172 | 6.00 | 10.4 | 5.30 |
| 2011 | 173 | -2.65 | -6.10 | 5.50 |
| 2012 | 156 | 5.13 | 9.20 | 5.50 |
| % change | -10 | - | - | - |
Ex-div: 22 May Payment: 25 Jun *Includes intangible assets of £6.3m, or 15p a share | ||||
