S&U’s Advantage motor finance business lends on a simple HP basis to lower- and middle-income groups that may have impaired credit records restricting access to mainstream products. It has c 65,000 customers. The Aspen property bridging business has been developing since its launch in 2017.
UK consumer confidence has weakened ahead of the UK budget although used car prices and transactions have remained stable year to date. UK residential property market data continue to improve as inflation and mortgage rates have moderated, and should continue to benefit from the expected further reductions in base rate.
Financials |
Update
Financials |
Update
Financials |
Flash note
Financials |
Update
Anthony Coombs
Executive Chairman of the Board
Chris Redford
FD
Forecast net cash (£m)
215.6
Forecast gearing ratio (%)
N/A
% | 1M | 3M | 12M |
---|---|---|---|
Actual | (31.7) | (31.0) | (42.7) |
Relative | (30.0) | (29.2) | (47.4) |
52 week high/low | 2310.0p/1260.0p |
H125 PBT of c £12.8m was in line with the company’s earlier guidance, a significant decline versus the prior year period but an improvement compared with H224. Customer repayment collections and earnings in the motor finance business were materially affected by the temporary restrictions agreed with the Financial Conduct Authority. These have since been lifted, and while regulatory discussions are ongoing, this is an important step towards the strong recovery in motor finance earnings that we forecast. Meanwhile, as previously reported, the property lending division continues to perform strongly, with a positive outlook for continuing growth. The recent cut in the base rate, and those that may follow, should positively affect funding costs and earnings, with all debt variable rate and unhedged.
Y/E Jan | Revenue (£m) | EBITDA (£m) | PBT (£m) | EPS (fd) (p) | P/E (x) | P/CF (x) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023A | 102.7 | 49.4 | 41.4 | 277.5 | 4.5 | N/A |
2024A | 115.4 | 49.2 | 33.6 | 209.3 | 6.0 | N/A |
2025E | 117.9 | 46.1 | 27.0 | 165.8 | 7.6 | 6.6 |
2026E | 120.3 | 55.0 | 36.3 | 224.0 | 5.6 | N/A |