Motorpoint Q1 revenues rise, cautious of inflation and supply chain woes

Vehicle retailer Motorpoint Group said on Wednesday that first-quarter revenues had risen but cautioned that rising inflation and worldwide vehicle supply chain challenges were likely to continue to affect its markets.

Motorpoint said revenues were up roughly 30% in the quarter at £402m, with its "strong growth" supported by vehicle price inflation.

However, while Motorpoint said it was confident of its ability to outperform the market, volumes in April and May were down against the previous year, when it enjoyed "strong demand" following branch re-openings.

The London-listed group highlighted that it had returned to "positive" year-on-year volume growth in June, and said this had continued into July.

Gross margins were down against record levels seen in the previous year, when vehicle appreciation "significantly inflated" margins, and were now more in line with the second half of 2022.

"As part of our recent final results announcement on 15 June 2022, we highlighted that the impacts of rising inflation and worldwide vehicle supply chain challenges were likely to continue to affect our markets, and this remains the case," Motorrpoint added.

"Despite the ongoing uncertainty, we will continue to invest with the consumer front of mind, in order to drive our strategy of significantly increasing our market share through price leadership, whilst continuing to deliver appropriate levels of profitability."

As of 0920 BST, Motorpoint shares were up 0.26% at 192.50p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com