Vertu Motors (VTU)

Sector:

Retailers

Index:

FTSE AIM All-Share

63.20p
   
  • Change Today:
      0.70p
  • 52 Week High: 80.90
  • 52 Week Low: 50.00
  • Currency: UK Pounds
  • Shares Issued: 325.45m
  • Volume: 80,460
  • Market Cap: £205.68m
  • RiskGrade: 217

Vertu Motors warns FY profits will miss expectations, shares tank

By Michele Maatouk

Date: Thursday 06 Feb 2025

LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Vertu Motors tanked on Thursday as it warned that full-year adjusted pre-tax profit would be "significantly below" current market expectations as the UK government's zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate is causing severe disruption in the new car market.
The automotive retailer noted that for the year ending 28 February 2025, the current Stifel estimate for adjusted pre-tax profit is £34.5m.

In new cars, Vertu said it has delivered like-for-like retail volumes and battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales ahead of the market trends in the five-month period to the end of January.

UK volumes overall in the new retail channel were the lowest for 25 years including the pandemic period, it said. A record proportion of fleet sales across the UK market has adversely impacted gross margin.

It also said the ramp-up in the ZEV mandate target to 28% for 2025 is likely to lead to further ongoing discounting activity in the new car market, continuing the margin pressure seen during the current year. Volumes are also likely to be under pressure, Vertu added.

It said trading in the aftersales segment remains resilient and continues to track ahead of the prior year.

Vertu also said on Thursday that its cost base it set to rise by £10m due to changes in National Insurance contributions and national minimum wage announced in the Budget last October. Actions have been delivered to fully offset this £10m cost which will incur an exceptional restructuring cost of up to £4.0m in FY25.

Chief executive Robert Forrester said: "The group's high margin aftersales business is performing strongly. However, the Government's ZEV mandate is causing severe disruption to the UK new car market, and the consumer environment is subdued.

"Despite these headwinds, the Vertu team is delivering, as seen by our significant market share gains in BEV new cars in the final quarter of the year. We now have award winning BEV dealerships with Citroen, MINI and VW."

He said the government and the industry need to get together to address the root cause of the issues to allow the automotive sector in the UK to return to its "traditional role of stimulating economic growth", which is a catalyst for employment.

Vertu also announced a new £12m share buyback programme.

"The board believes that this is an appropriate use of capital and will continue a programme of buybacks as a relevant element of returns to shareholders, alongside dividend payments," it said.

At 1445 GMT, the shares were down 10.5% at 51p.

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Note 1: Prices and trades are provided by Digital Look Corporate Solutions and are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

Note 2: RiskGrade figures are provided by RiskMetrics.

 

Vertu Motors Market Data

Currency UK Pounds
Share Price 63.20p
Change Today 0.70p
% Change 1.12 %
52 Week High 80.90
52 Week Low 50.00
Volume 80,460
Shares Issued 325.45m
Market Cap £205.68m
RiskGrade 217

Vertu Motors Star Ratings

Compare performance with the sector and the market.
more star ratings
Key: vs Market vs Sector
Value
89.35% above the market average89.35% above the market average89.35% above the market average89.35% above the market average89.35% above the market average
88.89% above the sector average88.89% above the sector average88.89% above the sector average88.89% above the sector average88.89% above the sector average
Price Trend
4.28% below the market average4.28% below the market average4.28% below the market average4.28% below the market average4.28% below the market average
22.22% below the sector average22.22% below the sector average22.22% below the sector average22.22% below the sector average22.22% below the sector average
Income
36.61% above the market average36.61% above the market average36.61% above the market average36.61% above the market average36.61% above the market average
30.00% above the sector average30.00% above the sector average30.00% above the sector average30.00% above the sector average30.00% above the sector average
Growth
94.03% below the market average94.03% below the market average94.03% below the market average94.03% below the market average94.03% below the market average
94.44% below the sector average94.44% below the sector average94.44% below the sector average94.44% below the sector average94.44% below the sector average

What The Brokers Say

Strong Buy 0
Buy 1
Neutral 0
Sell 0
Strong Sell 0
Total 1
buy
Broker recommendations should not be taken as investment advice, and are provided by the authorised brokers listed on this page.

Vertu Motors Dividends

  Latest Previous
  Final Interim
Ex-Div 26-Jun-25 12-Dec-24
Paid 25-Jul-25 17-Jan-25
Amount 1.15p 0.90p

Trades for 03-Jun-2025

Time Volume / Share Price
09:00 64 @ 63.40p
08:53 18,985 @ 63.87p
08:45 15,695 @ 63.67p
08:35 758 @ 63.70p
08:35 2,280 @ 63.74p

Vertu Motors Key Personnel

CEO Robert Forrester

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