9:31 am, July 27, 2017
INCHCAPE PLC reported operating profits of £208m, up 23 per cent, in its global half-year results out today.
The leading independent multi-brand automotive distributor and retailer reported revenue was also up 18.7 per cent to £4.5bn after a successful six months of trading, until June 30, 2017.
The company stated that its strong free cash flow generation supported its ability to drive shareholder returns, with dividend per share up 13 per cent.
Inchcape drew attention to its Ignite strategy helping the growth of group aftersales and used car strength in the UK, while an underlying performance in emerging markets is creating a profit return in Asia.
The organisation’s South American acquisition is going according to plan, as other deals for distribution additions for BMW in Estonia and PSA in Australia are also taking place.
Stefan Bomhard, group CEO of Inchcape PLC, said: ‘Our revenue, profit and free cash flow performance in the first half of 2017 was well ahead of last year, as we continue to put our Ignite strategy into action. Reflecting the strength of these results, we now expect to deliver a solid constant currency performance in 2017, modestly ahead of our expectations at the start of the year.
‘We achieved growth across our diversified set of value drivers, driven by our continued focus on improving our customers’ experiences, delivering the full potential of all revenue streams and by leveraging our global scale. I am pleased with the growth in our high-margin aftersales operations, as we benefit from better expertise sharing within the group. We have become ever more innovative in our approach to best serve the evolving needs of our customers, especially in digital. I can also report that we continue to identify incremental annual procurement cost savings.
‘Our unique distribution model continues to form the core of our business, generating 73 per cent of group trading profit in H1 and growing 10.7 per cent at constant currency over the period.’
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