The Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE) share price has surged 20.91% on Thursday morning following its H1 FY25 results announcement.
At the time of writing, the ASX 200 stock is changing hands at $27.265 per share. The shares are now trading a whopping 172.11% higher than this time last year.
For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is 0.052% higher at the time of writing.
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Eagers Automotive's H1 FY25 results
Here are the key numbers:
- Revenue is up 18.9% to $6.5 billion
- Net profit is up 8.8% to $134 million
- Underlying EBITDA is up 11.6% to $296.7 million
- Underlying operating profit before tax is up 8.3% to $193.4 million
What happened?
For the half year ended 30 June, Eagers Automotive posted a record first-half revenue of $6.496 billion, an 18.9% increase from H1 FY24.
The auto retailer also announced a record first-half underlying EBITDA of $296.7 million, which is $30.8 million, or 11.6% higher, than the first half of 2024.
Underlying operating profit before tax is 8.3% higher for the 6-month period at $197.7 million.
Statutory basic earnings per share (EPS) are 46.4 cents per share, 2.2% higher than H1 FY24, and underlying basic EPS were 48.3 cents per share, which was 5.2% higher than the first half of FY24.
The board has approved to pay a fully franked interim ordinary dividend of 24.0 cents per share for H1 FY25, on par with the dividends in H1 FY24. The record date for the dividends is 8 September, and the payment date is 1 October. The company's dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) will not operate in relation to the interim dividend.
The ASX 200 retailer said record first-half revenue was driven by balanced contributions from core Franchise Automotive businesses, full-period contributions from large-scale acquisitions, and continued rapid growth in its Retail joint venture.
Eagers experienced material gains in the New Energy Vehicle (NEV) market, increasing its market share to 34%. The business also experienced continued growth in its new vehicle market share (13.8% versus 11.1% in H1 FY24), which has driven incremental scale.
The company's independent pre-owned business, easyauto123, delivered a record first-half performance, with net profit increasing 22%. This was driven by unique vehicle sourcing channels and the company's benchmark operating model.
Company commentary on the results
"In the second half of the year, we expect to continue to grow our share in an improving market and deliver further revenue growth beyond our initial expectations for the full year," Eagers Automotive CEO Keith Thornton said.
"With our market leading NEV position, innovative pre-owned business, easyauto123 and new strategic alliance with global investment powerhouse, Mitsubishi Corporation, we have the platform to deliver on unique growth opportunities both in Australia and overseas."
