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LONDON - Vertu Motors, the UK’s fourth largest automotive retailer, announced Wednesday that its new car retail like-for-like volumes grew 7.0% in the three months to May 31, outperforming the broader UK retail market which rose 5.6%.
The company reported that its adjusted profit before tax for the period remains ahead of prior year levels, with the board anticipating full-year results for FY26 will align with current market expectations.
Despite the positive performance in new retail sales, Vertu faced challenges in other segments. Motability sales volumes declined 23.2% on a like-for-like basis, compared to an 18.5% drop in the UK market. Used vehicle like-for-like volumes fell 3.8%, though margins increased to 7.5% from 7.3%, resulting in higher gross profits from used vehicle sales.
The company’s service business showed continued strength with a 4.1% like-for-like revenue increase, benefiting from initiatives to enhance revenues and an aging vehicle fleet.
Vertu’s share buyback program, announced in February 2025 with a £12 million capacity, has utilized £4.5 million to date to purchase 7.8 million shares for cancellation, with £7.5 million remaining to deploy.
CEO Robert Forrester noted that while the company has "traded well in a challenging macro-economic environment," it continues to face "headwinds of a challenging consumer and business environment and the Government’s ZEV mandate promoting accelerated electric car adoption."
Vertu Motors currently operates 197 sales and aftersales outlets across the UK. This information is based on a trading update released by the company.
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