1 March 2019 – trading update

The company has issued a trading update covering the financial year ending on 28 February confirming that results should be in line with market expectations, with pre-tax profits of £24.2m on the cards for earnings per share of 4.86p.  A strong performance from the after sales business has helped to compensate to some degree from slower sales of new and used cars.  The company has also announced a change in its trading relationship with Ford with regards to parts supplied by the latter, the effect of which will be to reduce working capital requirements by £3.9m and underlying profitability by £0.8m per annum. The group is cautious about prospects given the ongoing concerns re Brexit, but with a strong balance sheet is well placed to benefit from any downturn in the market.  The shares remain a BUY.