3:02 pm, March 3, 2014
VERTU Motors looks set to post financial results that are ahead of market expectations, the company said today in a trading update.
An upbeat statement released by the group, which has a network of 106 sales and aftersales outlets across the UK, said the trading picture in the five months to the end of January had been favourable for the whole of the UK motor retail sector. And during that time, the company reported the following encouraging performance…
- Like-for-like private new retail volumes grew by 21.5 per cent, ahead of UK market growth of 14.8 per cent.
- Like-for-like new fleet and commercial vehicle volumes grew by 23.2 per cent.
- Like-for-like used vehicle volumes grew by 11.1 per cent.
- Like-for-like aftersales revenues increased by five per cent with growth across all channels.
There were other positive facts and figures to report too, with the new retail car like-for-like order take for March running ahead of last year; the successful integration of the Albert Farnell Land Rover business having taken place; and a strong pipeline of further acquisition opportunities in place.
The Vertu statement went on to say: ‘The outlook for the UK new car market remains positive, driven both by a positive consumer outlook and a supply push from manufacturers as they continue to direct higher volumes of product to the UK as a consequence of continued low level demand from the Eurozone.
‘There is a risk that these trends may lead to pressure on new vehicle margins in the event of supply exceeding demand. However, a higher volume market normally benefits the Group in the short term through sales and in the medium term through higher aftersales volumes.
‘March is the most important month for the profitability of the UK automotive sector as a consequence of the registration plate change and its impact on both new vehicle demand and the seasonality of servicing. The Board is pleased to report that the like-for-like private new car order-take for March is currently running ahead of last year’s levels. Whilst there is clearly significant work to do during the month to deliver a strong March performance, this order-take level gives the Board significant confidence.
‘The Board believes that, given the current strong performance of the Group and favourable market trends, the results for the year ended 28 February 2014 will be ahead of current market expectations.’
