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Inchcape has announced that Group revenue hit £3.9bn in H1, up 12% on an organic basis and 8% reported.
It also saw adjusted profit before tax of £184m (1H21: £121m), driven by topline growth and improved operating margins.
Along with the interim results, Inchcape also announced its acquisition of Derco, the largest independent automotive distributor in Latin America, for a cash and share consideration valuing at £1.3bln.
The group said that is an important milestone in the execution of its Accelerate strategy, providing a “step-change” in the scale of its distribution business and increasing its exposure to the fast growth region of Latin America.
Duncan Tait, Group CEO, said: “Inchcape has had a great first half. Continued strong consumer demand and fantastic execution from our teams has driven growth in revenue, profit and cash. We’ve also made excellent progress with the two strategic growth priorities of our Accelerate strategy. Firstly, we have continued to extend our global leadership in automotive distribution, adding new OEMs through acquisitions and contract-wins, and invested further in digital and data analytics – a key differentiator that is driving growth. Secondly, we are making progress on capturing more of a vehicle’s lifetime value with the rollout of bravoauto, and will be launching the platform in several markets in the second half.”
Based on the performance to date, Inchcape said: “With an improved outlook for vehicle supply and robust demand, we expect to deliver FY22 adjusted PBT from continuing operations between £350m and £370m at prevailing exchange rates.”