Cambria was established in 2006 with a strategy to build a balanced motor retail group, through close cooperation with its manufacturer partners and the self funded acquisition and turnaround of under-performing businesses. This strategy has proved very successful.

Following the acquisition of County Motor Works in January 2013, the Group now comprises 27 dealerships, representing 42 franchises and 17 brands, in a balanced portfolio spanning the high luxury, premium and volume segments.

The Group operates dealerships across England with a geographical spread from the North West through the Midlands, down to Kent in the South East and across as far as Exeter in the South West, trading under local brand names, including, Dees, Doves, Grange, Invicta, Motorparks and Pure Triumph.

Cambria's brand portfolio currently comprises Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Chrysler Jeep, Citroen, Dacia, Ford, Fiat, Honda, Jaguar, Mazda, Nissan, Renault, Seat, Vauxhall, Volvo and Triumph.

Our success in turning around under-performing dealerships has enabled Cambria to build a strong balance sheet. As a result, the Group is now in a position to consider acquisitions which are earnings enhancing from the outset, strengthening Cambria's brand portfolio mix further and fulfilling our national ambitions to create five regional clusters, each with a turnover of £200 million.


http://www.cambriaautomobilesplc.com/our_brands

http://www.cambriaautomobilesplc.com/index.jsp

Preliminary results


· Strong balance sheet - net assets £33.7m

· Strong operational cash flows, cash position of £15.4m (2013/14: £10.3m)

· Net cash of £1.0m (2013/14: net debt £4.6m) after significant investment in April 2015

· Return on Equity at 19.6% (2013/14: 15.9%)

· Proposed final dividend of 0.6p, full year up by 25.0% to 0.75p per share (2013/14: 0.6p)

· Post year-end, new £37.0m, 5 year banking facilities arranged, including an undrawn £22m revolving credit facility, providing additional funding capacity



Operational Highlights



· Growth in new vehicle sales of 9.0%

· New car retail profit per unit increased 12.6%

· Increase in used vehicle unit sales of 4.4%

· Used car profit per unit increased by 5.3%

· Increase of 7.8% in service and bodyshop hours sold

· Barnet Jaguar Land Rover acquisition from June 2014 integrating well with profit contribution in line with expectations

· Swindon Land Rover acquired on 30 April 2015 for £7.6m, integrating well and contributed in line with expectations

ST of IC today - Cambria's shares should offer decent mileage to my upgraded target price of 90p. That’s marginally above the 86p fair value estimate of Matthew McEachran of broking house N+1 Singer, but significantly less than the 116p medium-term target of Mike Allen at Zeus Capital. Needless to say, on a bid-offer spread of 70p to 73p, and offering a further 23 per cent potential upside, I rate Cambria's shares a buy.

Should perform well into 2016, with new car registrations tipped still to perform well.

2016 share tips the Guardian -

David Hellier

Shares in Cambria Automobiles, the motor dealership, have been climbing steadily of late and currently stand at an all-time high of 80p, up 70% over the 2015. There is reason to think they have much further to go. Annual profits came in 43% ahead of the previous year and above expectations at £7.7m.

Such is the momentum in the business that Zeus Capital, the group’s joint brokers, are upping their earnings forecasts for 2016 and 2017 by 4%. The dealership is favoured by Aston Martin and Land Rover, and the group has a history of buying underperforming dealerships and turning them around.

Thanks for the heads up D/C with this one, a cracking chart.

Good news about the record car sales expected to go on through 2016.

Nice chart DC - do you know if their trading update is imminent?

It has been mid January for the last 2 years.

Spot on skinny, sorry for the delay watching judge Rinder.


The Company also gives notice that the Annual General Meeting of the Company will be held at 10am on 14 January 2016

Thanks - I couldn't find it after a cursory glance at their website.

I had to dig deep. :-))

Acquisition and Disposal
RNS
RNS Number : 3697L
Cambria Automobiles Plc
11 January 2016

11 January 2016



Cambria Automobiles plc

("Cambria" or the "Group")

AIM: CAMB



Acquisition and Disposal



Acquisition

Cambria, the franchised motor retailer, is pleased to announce that on 8 January 2016 it completed the acquisition of the trade and assets of the Land Rover franchise in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire from Jardine Motors Group, for a total cash consideration of £10.8 million. This dealership is located approximately two miles from the Group's Jaguar and Aston Martin franchises on Great North Road, Welwyn Garden City. The Group now operates 3 Land Rover dealerships under the Grange trading name.



The consideration for the acquisition comprises £10 million of goodwill, £0.1 million for fixed assets, with the remaining £0.7 million for used vehicles, parts stock and apportionments. The acquisition is being funded from the Group's newly refinanced banking facilities.



The acquired dealerships' management accounts for the year ended 31 December 2015 show unaudited revenue of £54 million and Cambria estimates the profit before tax for the same period was £2.5 million. It is anticipated that this acquisition will be immediately earnings enhancing for the Group in the second half of the financial year to 31 August 2016.



Disposal

The Group also announces that it has signed Heads of Terms to dispose of its Grange Jaguar franchise in Exeter to Helston Garages Limited. The consideration for the disposal is expected to be in the region of £1.3 million (subject to final adjustment and preparation of completion accounts) and includes £1.2 million for Goodwill. It is anticipated that this deal will complete in the coming few weeks and further announcements will be made at the appropriate time.



The Group is simultaneously closing its Aston Martin boutique which is located in the same premises, to facilitate the transaction. The closure of the Aston Martin boutique in Exeter is in line with the Aston Martin franchise network restructuring strategy, and the Group continues to work closely with Aston Martin to enhance its partnership with the brand, as a result of which the Group anticipates adding another Aston Martin franchise to the Group's portfolio in the short to medium term. The combined Jaguar and Aston Martin Franchises at the Exeter dealership had revenue of £20 million and made a positive net profit contribution to the Group of £0.5 million in the 2015 financial year.



Both the Acquisition and Disposal of the businesses above are in line with the Jaguar Land Rover strategy that both the Jaguar and Land Rover brands are to be represented by the same dealer in a given franchise territory. The Group continues to work with Jaguar Land Rover to develop its Brand Partnership.



Following these transactions, the Group will operate a total of 29 dealerships representing 44 franchises and 17 brands across the UK.



Mark Lavery, Chief Executive Officer of Cambria, said:



"We are pleased to have acquired this Land Rover franchise in Welwyn Garden City, which complements the Group's Jaguar and Aston Martin site nearby. The acquisition represents further delivery of our strategy to develop our portfolio of premium and high luxury franchises, while acquiring immediately earnings enhancing businesses.



"The disposal of our Jaguar franchise in Exeter is in line with the Group's reorganisation to ensure compliance with Jaguar Land Rover's network strategy. The closure of our Aston Martin boutique is in line with Aston Martin's network restructuring and we remain excited about the potential to continue to develop our partnership with Aston Martin in the short to medium term."

.

A broker update would of been handy today, may be in the morning.

ST of IC - So although the shares are closing in on my 90p target price, there should be more fuel left in the tank to drive this upgrade cycle further. Indeed, Matthew McEachran at broking house N+1 Singer raised his fair value estimate from 86p to 95p post news of yesterday's acquisition, and Mike Allen at Zeus Capital has a new 130p medium-term target.

Needless to say, on a bid-offer spread of 85p to 87p, valuing Cambria's equity at £87m, and offering 10 per cent potential upside to my new target price of 95p, I rate Cambria shares a buy.

AGM Trading Update

Prior to the Annual General Meeting being held today at 10.00am, the Board of Cambria is pleased to announce the following trading update.

The Group is successfully maintaining the momentum achieved in the last financial year and the trading performance in the first four months of the current financial year has been substantially ahead of the corresponding period in 2014/15. This performance has been achieved in a record new car market with 2015 delivering UK new car registrations of 2,633,503. The market has seen year-on-year growth in registrations in all but one of the last 46 months, although the rate of growth is slowing as the comparatives toughen.

Trading in the first four months of the financial year has been substantially ahead of the corresponding period in 2014/15 on both a total and a like-for-like basis.

New vehicle unit sales were up 4.0% (like-for-like down 1.2%), with gross profit per retail unit improving. Used vehicle sales also performed well, with unit sales 4.7% (like-for-like 2.9%) ahead of the same period in the prior year and gross profit per unit continuing to increase. This performance has significantly enhanced the profit derived from the used car segment of the business. Growth in the Group's aftersales operations has also continued, with profitability up by 3.1% (like-for-like in line) year-on-year.

The Swindon Land Rover business that was acquired on 30 April 2015 has continued to perform in line with expectations. This acquisition added the second Land Rover dealership to the Group, and the Board remains confident about its potential.

On 8 January 2016, the Board was pleased to announce the acquisition of its third Land Rover dealership in Welwyn Garden City. This business will be immediately earnings enhancing in the second half of the 2015/16 financial year.

The Board expects Cambria's Interim Results for the six months to 28 February 2016 to be significantly ahead of the corresponding period of 2014/15 and views the outlook for the remainder of the financial year with confidence. In this regard, the Group's trading performance is tracking in line with the recently revised market expectations for the full year.

-Ends-

Trading update and notice of interim results

Cambria, the franchised motor retailer, announces the following trading update for the period to 29 February 2016 ahead of its interim results.

Trading update

Trading in the first five months of the financial year has been substantially ahead of the corresponding period in 2014/15 on both a total and like-for-like basis.

New vehicle unit sales were up 3.8% (like-for-like down 1.2%) and gross profit per retail unit continued to improve year on year. Used vehicle sales also performed well, with unit sales 4.3% (like-for-like 2.3%) ahead of the same period in the prior year. Gross profit per unit continued to increase and this performance further enhances the profit derived from the used car segment of the business. Growth in the Group's aftersales operations has also continued, with profitability up by 4.1% year-on-year (like-for like flat).

The Swindon Land Rover business that was acquired on 30 April 2015 has continued to perform in line with expectations and the Group's Welwyn Garden City Land Rover dealership, which was acquired on 8 January 2016, is integrating to plan. This business, which is the Group's third Land Rover dealership, will be earnings enhancing in the second half of the 2015/16 financial year.

After the first week of the important March trading period, the new car order book is building well and the Board expects the Group to deliver another strong trading performance in this crucial month. The Board continues to look to the future with confidence.

Notice of results

Cambria will announce its interim results for the six months ended 29 February 2016 on Tuesday 10 May 2016.

-Ends-

Cheers skinny.

ST of IC today - In my book, Cambria’s shares are still worth buying on a bid-offer spread of 80p to 83p and I am comfortable with my 95p target price.

Unaudited Interim Results 2016

Cambria Automobiles plc (AIM: CAMB), the franchised motor retailer, is pleased to announce its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 29 February 2016, which again show revenue and profits substantially ahead of the comparable period in the prior year, and continued delivery of the Group's strategy.

Financial highlights:

· Revenue increased by 14.7% to £278.4m (H1 2015: £242.8m)
· Underlying Profit before tax up 40.1% at £4.6m (H1 2015: £3.3m)
· Underlying Earnings per share increased 42.5% to 3.69p (H1 2015: 2.59p)
· Underlying net profit margin up 22.8% to 1.67% (H1 2015: 1.36%)
· Positive operational cash flows maintained, with a cash position of £25.3m (H1 2015: £13.0m) and net cash of £0.3m (H1 2015 net debt: £0.9m)
· Strong balance sheet with net assets of £37.6m (H1 2015: £30.4m)
· Rolling twelve month Return on Equity* of 21.15% (H1 2015: 18.65%)
· Interim dividend increased by 33.3% to 0.2p (H1 2015: 0.15p)
· New £37.0m, 5 year banking facilities arranged providing additional funding capacity for growth

Operational highlights:

· New vehicle sales up 5.1% with a 15.4% increase in profit per unit
· Used vehicle sales up 4.4% with a 9.7% improvement in profit per unit and evolution of the Group's focus on return on investment
· Aftersales revenue increased by 8.6% with gross profit improvement of 5.8%
· Acquisition of Welwyn Garden City Land Rover for £10.8m, integration progressing well
· Disposal of Exeter Jaguar in line with strategy of the Group and Jaguar Land Rover
· Swindon Land Rover acquisition delivered a positive profit contribution in line with expectations

Post Period End:
· Opened third Aston Martin business, in Birmingham
· Disposal of Croydon Jaguar in line with the strategy of the Group and Jaguar Land Rover
· Trading in the key plate change month of March was strong, ahead of plan and substantially ahead of previous year

* underlying profit after tax as a proportion of Average Shareholder's funds

Cheers skinny. :-))


ST of IC today - I feel that my 95p target price is not unreasonable. It’s in line with N+1 Singer's target, but on a deep discount to Zeus Capital’s valuation range (117p on a discounted cash flow basis to a blue sky valuation of 158p).

On a bid-offer spread of 75p to 78p, valuing the company’s equity at £78m, I rate Cambria’s shares a buy

By Motley Fool | Tue, 10th May 2016 - 11:21

Shares in car dealership Cambria Automobiles (LSE:CAMB) surged more than 7% higher this morning, after the company published an impressive set of interim results and said that full-year profits will be ahead of market expectations.

Cambria's underlying pre-tax profit rocketed 40.1% higher to £4.6m during the first half of the year, thanks to a 14.7% rise in sales and to big increases in profit margins on new and used cars.

On the face of it, Cambria shares look cheap. Before today's results, earnings per share were expected to rise by 30% to 7.9p this year. This figure is now likely to be upgraded -- I'd estimate that perhaps 8.5p per share is likely. This puts Cambria on a modest forecast P/E of about 8.8.

However, you need to remember that Cambria is a cyclical stock. New car sales have been fuelled by very cheap credit and may now be close to a cyclical peak. Although this is a risk, to some extent it's offset by Cambria's strong aftersales business. Servicing and repairs carry a much higher profit margin than car sales, and generated 40% of the group's gross profit during the first half.

Overall, I think it's probably too soon to sell Cambria. Further gains are possible.