Why the Autosports (ASX:ASG) share price just smashed its 52-week high

The Autosports share price is speeding to a 52-week high today as the company recently released a half year update.

Daniel Ewing

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Daniel moved to the Gold Coast, Australia at age 11. Nine years later he is in his third year of University at Monash in Melbourne. While starting out in a Science Degree, Daniel realised it wasn’t for him and promptly transferred to Commerce where he has developed a passion for the stock market. When not studying, Daniel can be most often found at the beach thanks to a passion for surfing.

Published January 25, 2021 5:33 pm AEDT

The Autosports Group Ltd (ASX: ASG) share price has had a massive few days, trading up 18% since releasing a positive half year update last Thursday.

Shares in the automotive retailer have continued their climb today, trading 13.58% higher and peaking at a 52-week high of $1.84.

flying asx share price represented by cartoon car rocketing above all other cars on the road — Inage source: Getty Images

Fast recovery

It seems the Autosports share price isn't the only thing making a speedy recovery. The Australian new car market overall has continued to recover faster than expected over recent months.

According to Vfacts industry data, November saw the overall new car market grow 12.4% higher than the same month in 2019. December 2020 saw this growth continue, up 13.5% on December 2019.

The improved market conditions have been supported with the group's improving gross margins. This is despite the impact of the stage 4 COVID-19 lockdown in Victoria late last year.

Improved results

The Autosports share price is rising today as the company updated the market on some of its upcoming results.

On a preliminary basis, the company expects that the total revenue for the half year will be approximately $905 million, up 8.2% from the prior corresponding period.

Normalised net profit before tax is expected to fall in the range of $28.5 to $29.5 million. However, this excludes the impact of the costs associated with acquisitions and closed businesses. The impact of the Victoria lockdown on the company was about $7 million.

Nonetheless, the company received approximately $10.4m in Jobkeeper support on behalf of its employees during September 2020.

About the Autosports share price

Autosports is an automotive retailer that focuses on the sale of new and used motor vehicles, sale of aftermarket products and spare parts and motor vehicle servicing and collision repair services.

The company has 42 dealerships selling new and used cars while 3 are solely focused on used car sales. It also has 5 repair facilities.

The Autosports share price has gained 11.2% in the last 12 months, outpacing the 0.2% return of the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

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