Vertu Motors Share Discussion Threads

[boonkoh] 01/3/2021 11:24

Big unknown is the impact of continued lockdown on car showrooms for the month of Mar, where usually there's a great volume of new car sales due to new reg plates.Will we just see a surge in April making it up or will some of the volume be lost?Also with the global chip shortage that auto manufacturers are facing, how does that impact lead times from order to delivery, and therefore new car sales volumes?

[mortimer7] 01/3/2021 10:42

Clear strategic outlook set out in todays trading update: "The strong balance sheet, experienced leadership team and strong systems capability mean the Group is well placed to capitalise on the significant opportunities for growth that exist within the UK automotive retail sector. The Board considers that scale is an increasingly important success factor in the sector and therefore has ambitious growth aspirations for the Group. The pipeline of potential acquisition and multi-franchising opportunities is strong, with expansion only to be undertaken following a robust assessment of capital allocation metrics". Vertu set to continue their successful growth strategy of picking off smaller dealer groups. Bound to be some bargain buys.

[davebowler] 01/3/2021 09:23

Zeus- Trading update Vertu has released a pre-close update, confirming FY21E performance is in line with current market consensus and Zeus Capital estimates with underlying PBT expected to be c.£23.0m. Vertu’s long-term investment case remains compelling and we reiterate our valuation of 65p per share. § Trading update: Vertu has confirmed it is trading in line with current market consensus, and ZC estimates, with FY21E underlying PBT expected to be c.£23.0m. This would imply a c.2% decline in underlying PBT YOY (FY20A: £23.5m) and we believe represents a robust performance in what has been an unprecedented year of significant disruption across the market. § Omnichannel development: Performance has undoubtedly been boosted by the Group’s accelerated development of its omnichannel capabilities. Whilst Vertu customers have long been able to purchase a used car entirely online, further investment in technology means it is now also possible for a customer to receive virtual sales presentations, pay a deposit of £99 to reserve their chosen vehicle, approve documents remotely via SMS and so use “click and collect” or delivery services. § Key drivers: In the 5-month period to 31 January 2021, LFL used volumes for the 5 month period fell 15.7% YOY, impacted by lockdown restrictions. Supply constraints within the used car market continued to benefit used vehicle margin, LFL gross profit per unit increased 12.8% YOY to £1,784 (FY20A: £1,582), delivering a £1.7m increase in core Group used car gross profit YOY in the 5 months. New vehicle volumes declined 13.3% YOY, in line with the market (SMMT UK private registrations -13.3%). Volume declines were offset by an improved gross profit per unit, +10.7% YOY driving a YOY £0.5m increase in LFL gross profits in the 5-month period. LFL new commercial volumes were +34% YOY, outperforming the market (SMMT: +11.6%) with LFL fleet volumes down sharply -33.1% as manufactures faced with reduced supply cut support for this lower margin channel. The period saw Aftersales LFL gross profit fall £1.9m YOY with a 5.3% growth in high margin retail service work offset by reduced vehicle preparation, warranty and accident repair work. Operating expenses as a % of revenue fell 80bps to 9.6% in period (prior year period 10.4%) benefitting from headcount reduction and lower variable costs. § Forecasts: Our forecasts are unchanged, reflecting confirmation that the Group is trading in line with our forecast FY21E PBT of £23.0m. Guidance for FY22E and beyond remains suspended. We will review forecasts at the time of full year results, to be published on 12 May 2021. § Investment view: We continue to believe the long-term valuation of Vertu is compelling, with current outperformance testament to the strength of its franchise and management team in challenging conditions. The current year has augmented already sector leading levels of Net tangible assets (48p in 2021 rising to 58p in 2023). We remain comfortable with our valuation of 65p per share set in our last note.

[jabers1] 01/3/2021 08:57

Q1 I purchase a used car 4 years old from Cazoo and I live in Southern England, Northern England, Wales or Scotland where do i go if the car is out of manufacturers warranty and it has something wrong with it? (Buying from a franchised dealer group delivers many more options for customer care) Q2 What is Cazoo and Cinch doing different to what Franchised Motor Dealers throughout the UK have been doing for years? Q3 How long until Cazoo and Cinch get to break even and will they survive the time that it will take them to eat there?

[daneswooddynamo] 01/3/2021 08:01

Decent update. The dealers are well placed

[boonkoh] 25/2/2021 22:28

A pity the reopening of car showrooms is only from mid April. Gonna miss the peak season of new 21 plate registrations in March. Online competitors like Carwow are going to mop up...

[boonkoh] 25/2/2021 22:27

Or they're forced to buy the shares, to satisfy vesting of the shares for performance plans?

[gfrae] 24/2/2021 09:28

The Employee Benefit Trust has just bought in nearly 2% of the company shares at up to 40+p. That is quite a show of confidence in the future prospects of this company by it's own management ! There may be quite a few people who have saved some money over the last year and feel the need for a brand new car ! and they may also want to avoid public transport for a while.

[gutterhead] 22/2/2021 20:09

Think they’ve got a Ford business in Eltham from memory.

[gutterhead] 22/2/2021 20:08

None in London

[gfrae] 22/2/2021 19:19

https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone/cars?intcmp=52215 The above is likely to make a lot of people change their cars in London, does Vertu have a lot of dealers in London ?

[gipps] 10/2/2021 16:39

Selling i would say in blocks of 20000

[viking24] 10/2/2021 13:41

Recent shareholder buying more?

[gipps] 09/2/2021 17:13

Big sell number today ?

[jabers1] 09/2/2021 11:13

Vertu now have a bigger market cap than Lookers, they could well have a go at Lookers at these levels, bigger company with better Franchise portfolio at a huge discount??

[chrisb1103] 08/2/2021 12:34

Nice move up - had to happen - still cheap as! :)

[daneswooddynamo] 08/2/2021 12:00

Moving nicely now, the dealers look well primed for some pent up revenge buying post March

[techno20] 04/2/2021 12:57

Muted response to a great update. Two analysts reports issued today. Target prices 60p and 65p!!

[mortimer7] 04/2/2021 09:51

This morning the SMMT has published the numbers for UK new car registrations for January. Total registrations were 90,249, a reduction of 39.5% on January 2020 total of 149,279. Today SMMT have issued their revised forecast for the full year registrations which is 1,887,000 which would represent a 15.7% increase on 2020 total.

[mortimer7] 04/2/2021 09:45

Very good performance as per todays update: "Board now expect that the trading result for the year ending 28 February 2021, at an adjusted profit before tax level, will exceed the current Analysts' forecasts of around £18m".

[chrisb1103] 04/2/2021 07:39

Group's trading performance ahead of prior year and Analysts' forecastsGreat update! :)

[1nf3rn0] 04/2/2021 07:32

Good trading update. Pre-tax profit for year ending 28th Feb expected to be above analyst expectations of £18m.