AGM and Interim Management St

RNS Number : 8236L

Inchcape PLC

13 May 2010

 



13 May 2010                                                                                                              

Inchcape plc

AGM and Interim Management Statement

"A good start to the year"

Inchcape plc, a leading international automotive distributor and retailer, will hold its AGM today, where the following statement will be made regarding its current trading and financial position, as required by the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.  It covers the period from 1 January 2010 to 12 May 2010.  Unless otherwise stated, figures quoted in this statement are for the quarter ended 31 March 2010.

Trading for the first quarter ended 31 March 2010

Total revenues were up by 13.0% in actual currency (up by 10.6% in constant currency) compared to the same period last year.  Like for like revenues were up by 14.8% in actual currency (up 12.4% in constant currency).

Revenues from new car sales were stronger than expected in several of our markets. Used car margins remained robust and our aftersales business, which typically represents approximately 50% of the Group's gross profit, continued to perform well.

Our cost base remains well controlled and we continue to benefit from lower financial costs as we exited 2009 debt free.

Regional Commentary

Our UK performance was strong, as we gained share in a new car market that was up by 27% in the first quarter and as we benefited from continued robust used car margins.  We expect a weaker new car market for the rest of this year as the scrappage scheme is now complete.

Our European businesses delivered a solid performance as we gained share in markets that were ahead of our expectations.  While we expect a stable demand for vehicles in Belgium and Finland, we should see a weaker market in Greece in the rest of the year due to the economic uncertainty.

In Asia, as expected we faced a very challenging market in Singapore where the demand for new cars was 27% below last year due to the rapid increase of COE prices. However, we enjoyed an excellent start to the year in Hong Kong with market share gains in a new car market which was up by 56% in the first quarter

Consumer demand for new vehicles remained significantly below last year in Eastern Europe and Russia where the markets were respectively 18% and 25% below last year.

We delivered a good performance in Australia where the new car market was up by 18% and continued the recovery that started in the fourth quarter of 2009.  Our market share performance remained strong and our Retail business continues to enjoy good momentum.

Financial Position

Our working capital and inventory management are in line with our expectations. Our financial position remains strong. 

Outlook

Our first quarter performance was stronger than expected although our revenue growth was delivered against weak comparatives in 2009. We remain cautious for the remainder of the year as demand for new cars will remain below last year in several core markets and we still do not expect any sustained global car market recovery to start until well into the second half of 2010.  We are confident however that the Group will continue to improve its competitive position and further strengthen its balance sheet despite these challenging market conditions.

André Lacroix, Group CEO of Inchcape plc, said:

"We are pleased with our first quarter performance, as we enjoyed our second consecutive quarter of like for like revenue growth at constant currency since the start of the global downturn in the fourth quarter of 2008.  This strong performance demonstrates the strength of Inchcape's global portfolio, as the Group has seen stronger demand for new vehicles in several markets around the world.

Inchcape continues to benefit from its diversified revenue streams and is uniquely positioned moving forward to take advantage of the global industry recovery as we focus on our five Group wide priorities of growing market share and aftersales while improving margins, controlling working capital and being selective about capital investments."

Ends

Group Communications, Inchcape plc

[phone]

Investor Relations, Inchcape plc

[phone]

Financial Dynamics (Jonathon Brill/Billy Clegg)

[phone]

Notes to editors

About Inchcape:

1. Inchcape is a leading, independent international automotive distributor and retailer operating in 26 markets.  Inchcape has diversified multi-channel revenue streams including sale of new and used vehicles, parts, service, finance and insurance.

Inchcape's vision is to be the world's most customer-centric automotive retail group and represents some of the world's leading automotive brands, including Toyota, Lexus, Subaru, BMW, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Audi, Honda, Land Rover and Jaguar.

Inchcape, which has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1958, is headquartered in London and employs around 15,000 people.

www.inchcape.com

2. Statements made in this announcement that look forward in time or that express management's beliefs, expectations or estimates regarding future occurrences are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements reflect the Group's current expectations concerning future events and actual results may differ materially from current expectations or historical results. 

3. Conference call for Analysts and Investors

            For details please contact Lucy Schwerdtfeger at Financial Dynamics

on [phone]

4. The next trading update is expected to be the interim results on 29 July 2010. 

 

END

 

 

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