LONDON (Alliance News) - Cambria Automobiles PLC on Tuesday delivered a surge in pretax profit, higher revenue and a raised dividend for the first half of its financial year, as the car dealer said it looks set to beat market expectations for the full year.
Cambria said its pretax profit for the six months to the end of February was GBP5.7 million, up 72% from GBP3.3 million a year earlier. Revenue grew 15% to GBP278.4 million from GBP242.8 million with growth in profit per unit on both used and new car sales.
New vehicle sales grew 5.1% year-on-year in the half, with profit per unit rising 15%, Cambria said. Used vehicle sales were up 4.4% but profit per unit grew faster, up 9.7%. Aftersales revenue rose 8.6%, the company added.
Due to the strong profit growth in the half, Cambria hiked its interim dividend a third to 0.2 pence from 0.15p.
Chief Executive Mark Lavery said the financial performance in the first half was strong, and the group was "bucking the trend in the market" through its robust used-cars performance, helped by improved stock management and increased efficiency in the sales process.
Lavery said Cambria performed well in March once more and said the group is confident it will continue the strong trading through the first half and outpace market expectations for the full year.
Cambria Automobiles shares were up 7.7% to 75.39p Tuesday.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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