Anexo PBT seen broadly in line with expectations, provides update on Mercedes suit

Credit hire and legal services firm Anexo said on Tuesday that annual pre-tax profits were expected to be broadly in line with market expectations as it provided an update on recent trading and its class action lawsuit against Mercedes Benz.

Anexo said full-year revenues were expected to be between £135.0m and £137.0m, while pre-tax profits were projected to come in between £24.0m and £26.0m, with the upper end of this range being broadly in line with market expectations.

The AIM-listed group highlighted that its credit hire division, EDGE, was "optimistic" on its 2023 outlook, while its legal division, Bond Turner, continued to benefit from the re-opening of the court system, which has seen an increase in cash collections, supporting further investment in new claims in credit hire, housing disrepair, and emissions litigation.

As far as Mercedes was concerned, Anexo stated its class action lawsuit, which alleges the German automaker had subverted key air pollution tests by using special software aimed at reducing emissions of nitrous oxides under test conditions, will see it pursue litigation against Mercedes and highlighted that it had already secured over 12,000 claims through internal resources and via social media.

Chairman Alan Sellers said: "We are very pleased with the continued strong performance of the group in the face of difficult economic conditions. Opportunities in credit hire, housing disrepair and emissions remain plentiful and we continue to concentrate on those cases which facilitate the most efficient return on our working capital."

As of 0830 BST, Anexo shares were down 1.76% at 106.10p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com