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Marshall Motor Holdings (MMH) has released its interim results for the six months ending in June this year.
Headline numbers for the report include a 1.2% like-for-like increase in profit before tax of £16.4m. This is +1.2% over 2017 (£16.2m), despite revenue being down year-on-year for the six-month period to £1.162bn (-0.4%).
In addition, like-for-like new unit sales were down 5.9% over the same period, highlighting the tightening market and decline in consumer confidence.
Like-for-like used unit sales were also down (-0.3%), but this was balanced by a +5.2% increase in used revenues. Gross margin figures reached 7.2%, reinforcing the strength of the used vehicle market and on-going increases in used vehicle values.
Marshall Motor further reported that aftersales revenues were up 3.2%.
Speaking about the results, Daksh Gupta, CEO of MMH, said: “The board is pleased to announce further profit growth in our continuing retail business in the period against an ongoing background of a challenging UK new car market.
“This has been achieved by a combination of robust operating disciplines, strong management actions on cost control and the benefit of site closures in 2017. With our excellent portfolio, robust operating disciplines, strong balance sheet and the support of our brand partners, I am confident the group remains very well positioned for the future. The board’s current outlook for the full year remains unchanged.”
The site closures mentioned in the statement helped to reduce net operating expenses in comparison to H1 2017.
Net cash for MMH as of 30 June, 2018 was £0.9m, following the disposal of Marshall Leasing Limited (30 June, 2017: Net debt £101.1m).
The group is continuing to invest in its property portfolio, with £10m in capital expenditure during the report period.