Motors galore. New vehicle registrations rose 5.6 per cent in the reported period, so it comes as no surprise that Aim-traded Cambria Automobiles (CAMB) managed to record a near-20 per cent improvement in new car sales and a 5.1 per cent rise in volumes. But exclude recent acquisitions and like-for-like new car volumes were flat. Bosses reckon that was still a good achievement given the "very competitive" marketplace as low rates make motor finance easy to come by.
Chief executive Mark Lavery argues that the more important number is gross profit per unit, which rose 9.7 per cent on a like-for-like basis during the first half. When it comes to used cars, a strong focus on sourcing improved the gross return on investment by 20 percentage points to 148 per cent.
However, the group's interim numbers don't include the all-important month of March when plates change and sales typically jump, as new buyers have waited for new registrations. Nor do they include much of a contribution from the recent £10.8m acquisition of Welwyn Garden City Land Rover or the recent award of the Aston Martin franchise for Birmingham.
Analysts at N+1 Singer expect pre-tax profits of £10.5m for the year ending August 2016, giving EPS of 8.4p. That compares with £7.7m and 6.1p in FY2015.
| CAMBRIA AUTOMOBILES (CAMB) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 77p | MARKET VALUE: | £77m | |
| TOUCH: | 75-78p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 89p | LOW: 57p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.0% | PE RATIO: | 10 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 38p* | NET CASH: | £0.3m | |
| Half-year to 29 Feb | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 243 | 3.31 | 2.6 | 0.15 |
| 2016 | 278 | 5.74 | 4.6 | 0.20 |
| % change | +15 | +73 | +76 | +33 |
Ex-div: 19 May Payment: 17 Jun *Includes intangible assets of £18.3m, or 18p a share | ||||
