CAMB.L Regulatory News (CAMB)

Embargoed for release at 0700 hours 13 May 2014

Cambria Automobiles plc

("Cambria" or the "Group")

Unaudited Interim Results 2014

Cambria Automobiles plc (AIM: CAMB), the franchised motor retailer, is pleased to announce its un-audited interim results for the six months ended 28 February 2014, which show revenue and profits well ahead of the comparable period in the prior year.

Financial highlights:

· Revenue increased to £204.8m (H1 2013: £179.1m) - up 14.3%

· Underlying profit before tax* at £2.02m (H1 2013: £1.39m) - up 45%

· Underlying earnings per share* increased to 1.56p (H1 2013: 1.04p) - up 50%

· Strong operational cash flows, resulting in a cash position of £12.99m (H1 2013: £9.67m) and net debt of £0.7m (H1 2013: £3.0m) after £6.7m of capital expenditure

· Strong balance sheet with net assets of £25.8m

· Interim dividend maintained at 0.1p

* These items exclude non-recurring expenses of £nil (2013:£0.08m)

Operational highlights:

· New vehicle sales up 17.1% - well ahead of overall growth in the UK market at 10.3%

· Used vehicle sales up 9% with a 3.7% improvement in profit per unit

· Aftersales accounted for 13.3% and 44.4% of Group revenue and gross profit respectively

· £6.3m invested in the property estate, reducing annual rental costs by £0.3m- Acquisition of freehold interest in Fiat and Nissan dealership in Warrington for £2.3m- Acquisition of freehold interest in Ford dealership in Croydon plus additional land for future

franchise expansion opportunity for £4m

Mark Lavery, Chief Executive of Cambria, said:

"This is a pleasing result for the Group. We have improved performance across all areas of the business and outperformed a growing UK new car market. Post period end, trading results in the key month of March were ahead of plan and the previous year and the Board is confident of maintaining momentum in the second half.

"In line with our strategy to improve the favourable mix of Cambria's portfolio, we continue to focus on further strengthening the Group's position in luxury and premium brands and are actively exploring acquisition opportunities which have the potential to fulfil our ambitions."

-Ends-

For further information, contact:

About Cambria - www.cambriaautomobilesplc.com

Cambria was established in 2006 with a strategy to build a balanced motor retail group, through close cooperation with its manufacturer partners and the acquisition and turnaround of underperforming businesses.

The Group now comprises 27 dealerships, representing 42 franchises and 17 brands, in a balanced portfolio spanning the high luxury, premium and volume segments.

The Group operates dealerships across England with a geographical spread from the North West through the Midlands, down to Kent in the South East and across as far as Exeter in the South West, trading under local brand names, including, County Motor Works, Dees, Doves, Grange, Invicta, Motorparks and Pure Triumph.

Cambria's brand portfolio currently comprises Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Chrysler Jeep, Citroen, Dacia, Ford, Fiat, Honda, Jaguar, Mazda, Nissan, Renault, Seat, Triumph, Vauxhall and Volvo.

The Group's success in turning around underperforming dealerships has enabled Cambria to build a strong balance sheet. As a result, the Group is now in a position to consider acquisitions which are earnings enhancing from the outset, further strengthening Cambria's brand portfolio mix and progressing towards its stated ambition to create a Group with annual revenues of over £1 billion.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S REVIEW

Introduction

The substantial improvements in Cambria's operating and financial performance, as announced in the results for the full year ended 31 August 2013, have continued into the first half of the current financial year with the Group delivering strong results across all areas of the business. This performance was delivered against an increasingly supportive backdrop in the UK with a buoyant new car market and a consumer environment showing real signs of recovery.

Financials

Highlights:

* These items exclude non-recurring expenses of £nil (2013:£0.08m)

Revenue in the period increased by 14.3% to £204.8m (H1 2013: £179.1m). Underlying profit before tax increased by 45% to £2.0m (H1 2013: £1.4m). Underlying EBITDA in the period increased to £3.0m (H1 2013: £2.4m). Underlying operating profit was £2.2m (H1 2013: £1.7m), resulting in an operating margin of 1.1% (H1 2013: 0.9%). Underlying earnings per share were 1.56p per share (H1 2013: 1.04p), a significant increase of 50%.

Gross profit increased by 10.1% to £26.1m (H1 2013: £23.7m) but the overall gross profit margin across the Group for the period decreased to 12.7% (H1 2013: 13.2%). This is primarily due to the increased revenue derived from the new vehicle business, which operates at lower margins in comparison with both the used car and aftersales departments.

There were no expenses which the Board considered to be non-recurring in the period (2013: £0.08m relating primarily to acquisition costs). Net finance expenses for the period decreased to £0.23m (H1 2013: £0.30m). The tax charge for the period of £0.46m represented an effective tax rate of 22.95% (H1 2013: 25.8%).

Cambria has a robust balance sheet with net assets of £25.8m (H1 2013: £22.2m), underpinned by £31.6m of freehold and long leasehold property. The Group has only £0.3m of goodwill on the balance sheet, and the remaining intangible fixed assets related to software and software licences. Mortgages amounting to £13.7m are secured against the freehold and long leasehold properties.

The net debt of the Group as at 28 February 2014, was £0.7m (H1 2013: £3.0m), reflecting gross debt of £13.7m (H1 2013: £12.6m) and the cash position of £13.0m (H1 2013: £9.7m).

During this period, the Group generated an operating cash inflow of £3.6m (H1 2013: £2.1m). A total of £6.7m was invested in capital items, £6.3m of which was used to acquire the freehold interests of the Warrington Nissan and Fiat dealership and the Croydon Ford dealership. The purchase of these freeholds reduces external rent by £0.3m and, in the case of the Croydon purchase, secures additional adjoining land to that currently operated by the business which will assist franchise expansion opportunities in the future. The remaining £0.4m included some corporate identity requirements for ongoing franchise standards.

The Group drew down £2.6m of new term loan, secured against the freehold property in Croydon, and serviced debt with £0.8m of mortgage repayments and £0.14m of interest associated with the mortgages. A dividend of £0.4m, relating to the 2013 financial year, was paid in January 2014, following approval at the AGM. The net cash outflow for the period was £1.8m (H1 2013: £1.8m).

Dividend

It is the Group's intention to maintain its policy of paying a dividend in respect of the full financial year, and the Board is pleased to announce the payment of an interim dividend of 0.1p per share. The dividend will be payable on 17 June 2014 to those shareholders on the register on 23 May 2014. The Board aims to maintain a progressive dividend policy, but intends to ensure that the payment of a dividend does not detract from its primary strategy to continue to buy-and-build and grow the Group.

Financing acquisitions

Cambria's strategy is to build on the favourable mix of its portfolio and maintain a good balance of high luxury, premium and volume brands as the Group grows. I am pleased to report that the Group has significant facilities available for further expansion and we have a number of opportunities under review.

Operations

New Vehicle Sales

New vehicle revenue increased by 19.4% to £83.5m (H1 2013: £69.9m) with total new vehicle sales volume up 17.1%. The new vehicle gross profit margin was 6.7% (H1 2013: 6.6%) and there was a £1.0m increase in gross profit.

This performance was delivered against a backdrop of a 10.3% year-on-year increase in new car registrations in the UK for the period 1 September 2013 to 28 February 2014. The private registrations element of the new car market increased 14% year-on-year. The Group's Brand Partners saw a combined 10% increase in their total registrations during the course of the period with some brands experiencing significant volume increases, whilst others experienced reductions. The Group's sale of new vehicles to private individuals was 18.8% higher year-on-year at 4,067 units, supported by strong consumer offers from the manufacturers. New commercial vehicle sales increased by 28.1% to 378 units and new fleet vehicle sales fell by 19.4% to 195 units, with both being transacted at lower margins than retail units.

Used Vehicle Sales

We have delivered another improved performance in used vehicle sales. Revenues increased by 15.5% to £98.6m (H1 2013: £85.4m) and the number of units sold rose by 9.0%. The gross profit on used vehicles increased by 12.7% to £8.9m (H1 2013: £7.9m), with the profit per unit sold increasing by 3.7%.

Aftersales

Aftersales revenue decreased 3.2% year on year to £27.3m (H1 2013: £28.2m), and the related gross profit increased to £11.6m (H1 2013: £11.2m). This was due to a reduction in the sale of Parts and specifically one trade account, whereas revenue from the service and bodyshop business increased. The overall aftersales margin, however, increased from 39.7% to 44.4% as a result of this movement in mix towards the service element of the aftersales revenue. The aftersales departments contributed 44.4% of the Group's overall gross profit.

The Group continues to review its processes for ensuring that it engages with all its Guests to maximise the interaction opportunities through the Guest Relationship Management programme. This is Cambria's contact strategy which involves the sale of our Warranty for Life product, service plans and delivery of service and MOT reminders in a structured manner, utilising all forms of digital media and traditional communication methods.

Outlook

The UK market has enjoyed over 24 months of year-on-year growth in new car registrations and this momentum was maintained during the crucial plate change month of March, which produced the largest number of new car registrations since 2004 - up 17.7% year-on-year. The stable financial outlook in the UK is allowing vehicle manufacturers to continue to deliver strong consumer offers, which represent attractive propositions for Guests to acquire new cars. Whilst manufacturers continue to have both vehicle availability and strong consumer offers, we expect the new car market in the UK to remain robust.

Cambria's continued cash generation and strong balance sheet leave the Group well positioned to protect and develop its balanced Brand portfolio. The Board continues to focus on opportunities to strengthen the Group's position in luxury and premium brands and is actively pursuing acquisition opportunities which have the potential to fulfil these ambitions.

The Group's performance in the all-important month of March was both ahead of our business plan and the previous year. The Board is confident that Cambria will maintain this momentumand continue to deliver improved performances across all its departments. The Company continues to trade in line with market expectations.

Mark Lavery

Chief Executive

13 May 2014

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

for the six months ended 28 February 2014

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

for the six months ended 28 February 2014

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

as at 28 February 2014

Consolidated Cash flow statement

for the six months ended 28 February 2014

Notes

1 General information

Cambria Automobiles plc is a company which is listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and is incorporated and domiciled in the United Kingdom. The address of the registered office is Swindon Motor Park, Dorcan Way, Swindon, SN3 3RA. The registered number of the company is 05754547.

These interim financial statements as at and for the six months ended 28 February 2014 comprise the Company and its subsidiaries (together referred to as the "Group") and have been prepared in accordance with Adopted International Financial Reporting Standards as Adopted by the EU ("Adopted IFRS").

The financial statements for the period ended 28 February 2014 have neither been audited nor reviewed by the auditors. The financial information for the year ended 31 August 2013 has been based on information in the audited financial statements for that period.

This unaudited interim financial report does not comply with IAS 34 'Interim Financial Reporting' which is not required to be applied under the AIM rules.

2 Accounting policies

The Group's principal activity is the sale and servicing of motor cars and the provision of ancillary services.

The accounting policies adopted in this interim financial report are consistent with the Group's financial report for the year ended 31 August 2013 and can be found on our website:

 www.cambriaautomobilesplc.com.

3 Operating Segments

Segmental reporting

The Group complies with IFRS 8 'Operating Segments' which determines and presents operating segments based on information presented to the Groups Chief Operating Decision Maker ("CODM"), the Chief Executive. The Group is operated and managed on a Dealership by Dealership basis. The CODM receives information both on a dealership basis and by revenue stream (New, Used, Aftersales). Given the number of dealerships, it was deemed most appropriate to present the information by revenue stream for the purposes of segmental analysis.

The CODM reviews the performance of the business in terms of both net profit before tax and EBITDA, as such the following table shows a reconciliation of EBITDA to the Profit before tax.

4 Earnings per share

Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the earnings attributable to equity shareholders by the number of ordinary shares in issue in the period. There is one class of ordinary share with 100,000,000 shares in issue.

There are no dilutive share options in issue.

5 Taxation

The tax charge for the six months ended 28 February 2014 has been provided at the effective rate of 22.95% (H1 2013: 25.8%).

The group has an arrangement with the vendors of Cambria Automobiles (South East) Limited, which was acquired in the year ended 31 August 2008, under which an amount equal to any tax benefit received by the Group in relation to tax losses that existed at the date of acquisition must be paid to the vendors as additional consideration. A liability for the contingent consideration payable to the vendors has been recognised at its fair value.