The AP Eagers Ltd (ASX: APE) share price is up 11.63% to $7.87 at the time of writing, following the release of the chair and CEO's addresses to shareholders. Both addresses will be delivered at the AP Eagers AGM today.
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What was in the announcement?
The addresses included a business update about the company, including an update about the company's results for the half year to 30 June 2020.
In his address, AP Eagers CEO Martin Ward reported that the company expects underlying profit for the half year to June 30 of $40.3 million, a 23.6% decline on the prior corresponding period. The company announced that its formal results would be released after 26 August, with the board confident that underlying profit will match its current expectation.
Commenting on the results, Ward stated:
The Board believes this to be a resilient operating performance particularly as the first quarter was tracking above last year and all of the decline was experienced during April and May – the peak impact of COVID-19 restrictions up to this point. Importantly those challenging months were followed by a rebound in June, supported by an opening of the economy and confidence in the Government stimulus measures.
Within the address announcement, AP Eagers also revealed it had achieved permanent cost reductions of $78 million per year in the previous 3 months.
The company had $633.9 million of liquidity available at 30 June 30 and its net debt decreased to $7.6 million at June 30, down from $315.8 million at 31 December 2019.
About the AP Eagers share price
AP Eagers is a car dealership operator with over 100 years of history. The company has more than 200 car dealerships and also sells new and used buses and trucks. AP Eagers has a large property portfolio worth over $300 million.
Recently, AP Eagers sold its AHG refrigerated logistics business to Anchorage Capital Partners for $75 million. The company absorbed a $20 million accounting loss from the sale.
The AP Eagers share price is up 214% from its 52-week low of $2.50, however, it is down 20.9% since the beginning of the year. The AP Eagers share price is down 27.67% since this time last year.
