Given the tumult in the auto retail market, Marshall Motor Holdings’ (MMH) results for the first half of 2019 are illustrative of the group’s resilience, at least in relative terms. The group saw declines in like-for-like sales of both retail and fleet units, but in both cases the drop was far shallower than the wider market. The used car division’s performance, meanwhile, grew strongly with like-for-like sales up 7.2 per cent. That said, the group was not able to completely shrug off the difficult market conditions, as evidenced by a 5.3 per cent fall in underlying pre-tax profit.
As ever, the group is looking to build scale and was highly acquisitive, adding another six Skoda dealerships in the period, making it the manufacturer’s largest UK retailer. Weak markets have created buying opportunities for the group, and management said the deal pipeline looked “busy”.
Inventories were up on the prior period, but management said it had taken on higher levels of stock at the beginning of the year in preparation for Brexit, noting that stock was lower than at the end of last year.
Broker Investec is forecasting adjusted pre-tax profits of £22.9m for the full year, giving EPS of 22.1p. This is down from £25.7m and 26.5p in 2018.
| MARSHALL MOTOR HOLDINGS | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 139p | MARKET VALUE: | £109m | |
| TOUCH: | 138-140p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 176p | LOW: 123p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 6.6% | PE RATIO: | 9 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 257p* | NET DEBT: | 41% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2018 (restated) | 1.16 | 16.2 | 16.3 | 2.15 |
| 2019 | 1.18 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 2.85 |
| % change | +2 | -9 | -10 | +33 |
| Ex-div: | 22 Aug | |||
| Payment: | 20 Sep | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £115m, or 148p a share | ||||
