Lift put down to light trucks with medium and heavy vehicle sales declining
Vehicle vendor AP Eagers has seen a welcome profit injection from its truck sales arm turn up in first half results.
Indeed MD Michael Ward noted “Continued improvement in the performance of our truck business” as a key focus in the second half of its financial year to the end of December, after flagging such an outcome in May.
The National Truck retail division profit before tax was $3.2 million for the half year compared with $800,000 for last year’s first half.
Revenue rose by 5.5 per cent to $179 million, “reflecting strong performance in all departments including significantly improved profits from the used truck division”.
“Nationally, the Heavy Commercial segment recorded a 2.9 per cent increase with significant increases in light duty trucks being offset by declines in heavy/medium duty sales,” Ward says.
For the group, the main reporting gains were a 10.8 per cent net profit rise to $48.48 million on a 12.1 per cent revenues rise to $1.84 billion.
In June, $5.5-$7 million was paid for the Tony Ireland Group, which is expected to complete on October 1. The business employs 110 staff, has annual revenue of about $85 million and includes car and truck businesses including Isuzu Trucks and Hyundai Forklifts.