Vertu Motors (VTU) H1 2027 earnings summary

Executive summary

• H1 FY27 revenue reached a record £2,596.5m, up 3.4%; adjusted PBT rose 19% to £23.8m, with growth across vehicle sales and aftersales.

• Free cash flow was £17.5m versus £0.4m in H1 FY26; cash conversion was 94.2% and net debt excluding lease liabilities fell to £54.2m from £61.3m at FY26 year-end.

• FY27 results are anticipated to exceed current expectations; analyst consensus adjusted PBT was £26.5m, within a £25.5m–£27.1m range, based on data to 13 October 2026.

Financial highlights

• Revenue was £2,596.5m; gross profit was £290.6m and gross margin held at 11.2%.

• Adjusted operating profit rose 9.7% to £34.0m; adjusted PBT was £23.8m versus £20.0m and PBT was £24.2m versus £19.5m.

• Profit after tax rose 25.4% to £17.8m; adjusted basic EPS increased 24.9% to 5.71p, while reported basic EPS was 5.80p versus 4.46p.

• Like-for-like revenue grew 4.3%; like-for-like gross profit increased £10.9m.

• Interim dividend increased 11.1% to 1.00p per share from 0.90p.

Outlook and guidance

• FY27 results are expected to exceed current expectations; September profit was ahead of prior year and Board expectations after adjusting for the prior-year JLR cyber-attack impact.

• September trading was strong following UK new retail registration growth of 13.9%; like-for-like new retail volumes were flat, while Motability grew 28.7%.

• FY27 net capital expenditure is anticipated at £21.6m, including projects and further Chinese-brand outlet expansion.

• Self-help measures include Value Cars expansion, Shariah-compliant used-car finance, revised sales remuneration, technician pay changes, technology and cost efficiencies.