Vertu Motors enjoys record revenue after bumpy year

Used car dealership, Vertu Motors saw revenue and pre-tax profit rise in its annual results after a bumpy previous year, which forced the firm to issue a profit warning.

Revenue at the AIM-listed Vertu, which was founded in 2006 after acquiring Bristol Street Motors, rose to £4.7bn in the year to 29 February from £4bn the previous year.

Meanwhile, profit before tax rose 6.5 per cent to £34.6m, in line with expectations.

The figures will be a welcome relief to shareholders in the used car trader, who have endured a bumpy ride after the firm was forced to issue a profit warning in December last year citing “volatile conditions” in October and November.

However, alongside this set of results, the company said that values and margins stabilised by the end of the year. Prior to the profit warning, the firm posted record revenue in a set of interim results.

Investors were treated to a final dividend of 1.50p per share, an increase of 9.3 per cent on the previous year on top of the £7.5m buyback of 11.3m shares which took place over the course of last year.

Robert Forrester, chief executive officer at Vertu said: “It was pleasing to see the group successfully navigating a difficult period of trading with declining used car values in the last few months of 2023.

“Used vehicle prices have now stabilised and there has been strong cash generation from lower working capital…

“Moving to the new financial year, March and April 2024 were successful months. The group delivered new retail like-for-like sales volumes ahead of the market decline in March and April.”