Autosports Group (ASG) H1 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Revenue increased 2.1% year-over-year to $1,369 million, supported by the Stillwell Motor Group acquisition, despite a challenging new vehicle market and luxury segment decline of over 13%.

• EBITDA declined 25.7% to $80.1 million, with gross margin down 1.4pp to 18.3% due to lower new vehicle margins and deliberate inventory reduction strategies.

• Normalised net profit before tax fell 63.1% to $20.2 million, impacted by higher interest costs and market headwinds.

• Fully franked interim dividend of 3.5 cents per share declared, down 61.1% year-over-year, consistent with policy.

• Operating cash flow remained strong at $78.8 million, enabling debt repayment, investment in acquisitions, and continued dividends.

Financial highlights

• Total revenue rose to $1,369.4 million from $1,341.6 million, up 2.1% year-over-year, driven by $80 million from Stillwell acquisition.

• Gross margin declined to 18.3% from 19.7% year-over-year; new vehicle margin down 2.9%, equating to $20–25 million gross profit impact.

• EBITDA margin fell to 5.9% from 8.1%; PBT margin dropped to 1.3% from 4.0%.

• Interest expense rose 17.9% to $32.3 million, mainly due to higher leasing, acquisition, and inventory costs.

• Operating cash flow was strong at $78.8 million; corporate debt reduced by $14.7 million to $219 million.

Outlook and guidance

• Cautious outlook for H2 FY2025; new vehicle market expected to remain challenging.

• Used car, service, parts, and collision repair businesses expected to remain resilient with single-digit growth.

• Growth to be supplemented by full-year impact of Stillwell acquisition and six new Polestar and Zeekr outlets.

• Inventory levels to be closely managed; further reductions possible if market declines.

• Directors believe the Group will generate positive operating cash flows and operate within finance facilities through at least February 2026.