15 Jan 2015 07:00
15 January 2015
Cambria Automobiles plc
("Cambria" or the "Group")
AIM: CAMB
Trading Update
Prior to the Annual General Meeting being held today at 10.00am, the Board of Cambria is pleased to announce the following trading update.
The Group is successfully maintaining the momentum achieved in the last financial year and the trading performance in the first four months of the current financial year has been substantially ahead of the corresponding period of 2013/14. This performance has been achieved in a strong domestic new car market which has now seen 34 consecutive months of growth, and 2,476,435 registrations recorded in calendar 2014, the highest level since 2004.
All aspects of the business continue to show strong profit improvement on both a total and a like-for-like basis. The Group's new vehicle unit sales in the first four months of the current financial year increased by 19.3% and by 11.9% on a like-for-like basis, well ahead of the UK new car market which grew by 8.2% in the same period. The Board anticipates that new car volumes will remain robust in 2015. Used vehicle sales also continued to perform well, with unit sales 1.8% ahead of the same period last year (flat on a like-for-like basis), with the gross profit per unit continuing to increase. The growth in the Group's aftersales operations is continuing, with profitability currently up 10.7% year-on-year and up 3% on a like-for-like basis.
The Barnet business that was acquired in July 2014 has performed in line with expectations. This acquisition added the sixth Jaguar dealership and the first Land Rover dealership to the Group, and the Board remains confident about its potential.
The Board expects Cambria's interim results for the six months to 28 February 2015 to be significantly ahead of the corresponding period of 2013/14 on a like-for-like basis and views the outlook for the remainder of the financial year with confidence. In this regard, the Group's trading performance is also tracking ahead of current market expectations for the full year.
Enquiries:
Cambria Automobiles Mark Lavery, Chief Executive James Mullins, Finance Director
| Tel: 01707 280 851 |
N+1 Singer - NOMAD & Joint Broker Jonny Franklin-Adams / Jen Boorer
| Tel: 020 7496 3000 |
Zeus Capital - Joint Broker Adam Pollock
| Tel: 020 7533 7727 |
Tavistock Keeley Clarke / Emma Blinkhorn / Matt Ridsdale | Tel: 020 7920 3150 |
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 28 dealerships, representing 45 franchises and 18 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, Land Rover, 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, as well as looking at the acquisition of underperforming dealerships, 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.