looking at the sp Inchcape appears to have withstood the big fall in sp. down c.50% since Aug07 - the start of the Credit Crunch . . . . .

By comparison look at INCH and PDG (Pendragon) - from abouit 2005/6 they are somewhat similar (ignore noise!) and then at Aug07 the charts change - such that Pendragon is now about 80% down.

Why has Inchcape fared so much better?

They claim they are "independent" - but I can't imagine this means they are not tied to the Manufacturers - otherwise they won't get the best discounts, will they?

So when will INCH suffer similar falls....?

Can't say I'm impressed by Inchcape's website - far too strong on investor relations...which really means no information at all.....where are the Best Car-Deals?

EDIT (12Nov08), some Director-buying boosted this to 78p, but it slipped back on Media News that car sales are dire (and Retail!), so I suppose no-one expect this to improve for another year - 50p someone?
(Last month Dir-Buy was minute - 7k which wouldn't buy a Dir-car....oops!)

Inchcape down; Panmure cuts target price to 50p

Shares in Inchcape slip over 4 percent as Panmure Gordon cuts its target price to 50 pence, from 70 pence, in the wake of the car retailer's 2009 profit warning earlier this week.

'While it is likely to breach banking covenants, investors can only adopt a wait-and-see approach as the company is now pretty much in the hands of the banks,' says Panmure in a note.

'We do think there is strategic value in the group, although this is unlikely to be recognised over the next six months or so until the worst of its problems are over and some green shoots of recovery are in place,' says the broker, which keeps its 'hold' recommendation.

Citigroup downgrades Inchcape to Hold
MoneyAM
Citigroup has cut car retailer Inchcape from Buy to Hold and slashed its target price for the shares to 40p from 110p.

It points to:
* two profit warnings in two months
* collapse to double-digit declines in all markets
* zero dividend
* ongoing negotiations with bankers to agree new covenants
* no recovery in revenue trends expected until 2011

Now Ferrari has gone into administration... it is really not a very reliable car... at least Skoda is still with us.

mitzy - 24 Nov 2008 08:56 - 9 of 20
40p sometime this week.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.

Reading Autocar weekly yesterday and they were recommending the government use a stimulus package for the auto industry whereby people trading in cars over 10 years old with a new or secondhand car would receive 2000 off a new or year old model. Apparently this has been done in 7 other countries and would cost approx. 540 million but VAT receipts would reduce that 160 just a days printing really! Might be good for inch though which looks to have plateaued and would help CO2 emissions. Might have to buy an old shitbox from the auction and do likewise!

Nearly there
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5904540.ece

Thats quite an impressive break-out.

Quite an impressive breakdown!

UNLUCKY ONLY 13p

GM is preparing for bankruptcy, not good news for Inchcape.

I think it's right's issue dilution as well,some of these banks must be bagging good fees on all these RI's

European Car Sales 9% Lower - MoneyAM


New car sales in Europe were 9% lower on average in March compared with the same month last year, accroding to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association.

The average masks wide variation in car sales between member states. In Germany, there was a 39.9% increase as a result of the introduction of the governement incentive scheme. Other countries that similarly benefited include: France +8.0% and Italy +0.2%.

In the UK, where March is normally a strong month, registrations fell by 30.5%. In Spain, registrations fell by 38.7%.

Over the first quarter of 2009, sales were 17.2% down with a total of 3.44m registrations compares with 4.15m in the same period last year.

TODAY COULD BE THE DAY. BUDGET ?

Except that the budget is on Wednesday!

Some good news for a change........I took a punt on those figures and the large volume today.........


U.K. Manufacturing Increased in April as Slump Ended

June 10 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. manufacturing rose for a second month in April as a rebound in motor vehicle production helped end the yearlong factory slump and temper Britains recession.

Output climbed 0.2 percent from March, when it increased by the same amount after being revised up from a drop, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. Economists predicted a 0.1 percent gain, according to the median of 26 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey.

Bank of England Deputy Governor Paul Tucker said yesterday that confidence may be stabilizing, and other reports this month showed the housing market slump is moderating and service industries expanded for the first time in a year. This data suggests the recession may have slowed in the second quarter after the economy shrank the most since 1979.

That is how the CHARTS look like at the moment, and it look positive as the volume could prelude to a BREAKOUT

Charts- Intraday

3 months candlestick with volume

2 years

3 months Bollinger Bands - 50 days MA - Indicators

Late yesterday after market close -BRITISH BULL - CONFIRMED the shares as a BUY ( short term ).........

Our system posted a BUY CONFIRMED today
Candlestick Analysis
Todays Candlestick Patterns:
White Candlestick

Today a White Candlestick was formed. This represents normal buying pressure.

WHITE CANDLESTICK
Type: Reversal/Continuation
Relevance: Indecision

Definition:
The White Candlestick represents normal buying pressure.

Recognition Criteria:
1. The real body of the pattern is white with normal length.
2. The upper and lower shadows are smaller than the length of the real body.

Explanation:
White Candlestick shows buying pressure. It shows that prices advanced from open to close during the day and buyers were in control.

       

- Trading Statement - and DOING WELL

The cash flow must be very good, as after a debt of 404M is now only 100M, so discounting the 234M
of the R I, there is 70M of cash flow on 2 month, that is a lot of money comin IN

LONDON (Reuters) - Car dealer Inchcape (INCH.L) reported a sharp drop in sales over the last five months, but said trade in Britain had improved after unprecedented falls and that it was starting to benefit from its cost cutting programme.

The British-based firm, which trades in 26 countries, on Wednesday said like-for-like sales for the first five months of 2009 were down 23.8 percent on a constant currency basis.

"Customer demand for new vehicles is still weak but our aftersales business, which represents approximately half of our gross profit, remains strong," the company said in a trading statement ahead of its half-year results on July 29.

"In the second quarter, our pretax profits are currently expected to be significantly ahead of the 20 million pounds reported for the first quarter, but well below the same period last year."

Inchcape said its aggressive cost reduction actions were now delivering significant benefits to mitigate the impact of the continued downturn in the auto market.

The dealer said it continued to outperform the British car industry with like-for-like sales down 21 percent in a market which is down by 27.9 percent and that it was benefiting from a stronger used car market.

The group last month posted a 69 percent drop in first-quarter pretax profit but said trading had improved in Britain and Singapore.

Inchcape shares have plunged 70 percent over the last year amid an unprecedented slump in car sales that led it to axe 2,000 jobs, scrap its dividend, reduce stocks and cut capital spending.

Shares in the group, which bounced back from a low of 5.82 pence this year after it raised 249 million pounds in a deeply discounted rights issue, closed at 16.25 pence on Tuesday, valuing the firm at around 760 million pounds.

Inchcape said its net debt stood at around 100 million pounds at the end of May -- down from 404 million pounds at the end of March 2009 -- reflecting the 234 million pounds proceeds from its rights issue and improved cash flow.

brewin dolphin gone positive

Inchcape Retain Hold price price target 17.5p Neutral, hold