12 October 2016 – interim results
Vertu Motors has released reassuring figures for the first half, with confirmation that the company is on track to meet expectations for the full year. Revenues increased by 17.7% to £1,454.6m (2015: £1,236.1m). A record profit before tax of £18.7m (2015: £16.4m) was reported and adjusted profit before tax was up 14.7% to £19.5m (2015: £17.0m). Earnings per share were 3.87p (2015: 3.82p). Net cash as at 31 August was £12.9m (2015: £32.1m) and cash generated from operations was £26.4m (2015: £37.6m). The interim dividend was lifted to 0.50p per share (2015: 0.45p per share). The company raised £35m in March to finance further acquisitions and the majority of funds have been utilised. We believe the shares are too low and reiterate our BUY rating.