Daksh Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“Despite challenging market conditions, the Group has delivered a strong H1 unit sales performance, ahead of both the new and used car markets and underlying profit before tax in line with the Board’s expectations
“Given continued weak consumer confidence as a result of ongoing political uncertainty over Brexit, ongoing cost headwinds for the retail sector and further potential new vehicle supply constraints in the lead up to the implementation of further emissions-related regulations on 1 September 2019, the Board believes it is right to remain cautious regarding the outlook for the remainder of the year. Nevertheless, the Board’s current outlook for the full year remains unchanged.”
Marshall Motor Holdings PLC (LON:MMH), one of the UK’s leading automotive retail groups, today announced its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2019.
Financial Summary
| H1 2019 | H1 2018 (restated for IFRS 16) | Var % | |
| Underlying: | |||
| Like-for-like1 revenue (£m) | 1,160.6 | 1,150.0 | +0.9% |
| Profit before tax2 (‘PBT’) (£m) | 15.2 | 16.0 | (5.3%) |
| Basic earnings per share (p) | 15.0 | 16.1 | (6.8%) |
| Reported: | |||
| Revenue (£m) | 1,183.3 | 1,162.9 | +1.8% |
| Profit before tax (£m) | 14.8 | 16.2 | (9.0%) |
| Basic earnings per share (p) | 14.6 | 16.3 | (10.4%) |
| Dividend per share (p) | 2.85 | 2.15 | +32.6% |
| Adjusted Net Cash / (Debt)3 (£m) | 5.8 | 0.9 | +544.4% |
| Reported Net Cash / (Debt)4 (£m) | (82.2) | (92.7) | +11.3% |
Highlights
• Strong financial performance in a challenging market; H1 result in line with the Board’s expectations
• Market outperformance in all core metrics during the Period:
• Like-for-like new unit sales to retail customers down 0.4% compared to a market5 decline of 3.2%;
• Like-for-like new unit sales to fleet customers down 1.1% compared to a market5 decline of 3.6%;
• Continued strong like-for-like used unit sales growth of 7.2%;
• Like-for-like aftersales revenue up 1.8%
• Gross margin maintained at 11.4% (H1 2018: 11.4%), with higher new vehicle margins offsetting margin pressure in used vehicles and aftersales
• Like-for-like net operating expense growth of 1.6%, 2.0% excluding impact of lease disposal, benefitted from a number of one-off management actions
• Adjusted net cash of £5.8m as at 30 June 2019 (30 June 2018: £0.9m), reflecting disciplined working capital management and working with our brand partners to control capital expenditure. Reported net debt reflects previously highlighted effect of adopting IFRS16
• Continued investment in the Group’s property portfolio; £8.8m capital expenditure during the Period, including the purchase of the Northampton ŠKODA freehold for £1.7m
• Acquisition of six ŠKODA franchised dealerships making the Group ŠKODA’s largest UK retailer
• Continued strong balance sheet with net assets at 30 June 2019 of £200.7m, equivalent to £2.57 per share (30 June 2018: £195.1m, £2.51 per share) including £123.9m of freehold property
• Interim dividend 2.85p per share (2018: 2.15p), up 32.6% aided by recently revised dividend policy
1 “Like-for-like” businesses are defined as those which traded under the Group’s ownership throughout both the period under review and the whole of the corresponding comparative period
2 Underlying profit before tax is presented excluding non-underlying items (see Note 6)
3 Adjusted net debt is presented excluding the impact of the recognition of lease liabilities under IFRS16 (see Note 3a)
4 Reported net debt includes the impact of the recognition of lease liabilities under IFRS16. (see Note 3a)
5 Registrations as reported by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
