Inchcape announces positive results for the first half of 2024

• Growth was driven by the company’s advancement in Asia-Pacific and a solid performance in Europe and Africa, with an 8% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• In Latin America, it manages to resiliently maintain its market share in the declining South American markets and achieve a very good performance in Central America and the Caribbean.

Inchcape, a global leader in automotive distribution, announced its first half of 2024 results from its headquarters in London. During this period, the company reported revenues of £4.7 billion, representing an 8% increase compared to the same period last year.

The rise includes 4% organic growth and 4% derived from recent acquisitions in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, although partially offset by currency conversion challenges.

The Americas region showed results in line with expectations, given the decline in South America. In this contraction scenario, Inchcape demonstrated its resilience, maintaining its market shares. Moving forward, these markets are expected to recover gradually and moderately. Meanwhile, operations in Central America showed a great performance, boosted by the introduction of new brands and new markets.

Regarding the integration with Derco, the company noted that after a year and a half, it continues to progress as expected, demonstrating its ability to generate synergies and open market opportunities.

In recent months, Inchcape Americas has continued to grow, adding new distribution contracts in various countries: JAC commercial vehicles in Colombia; Changan in the Caribbean; and Forland commercial vehicles in Ecuador.

“We are pleased with our positive start to 2024. We have seen additional momentum in APAC, continued performance in our Europe and Africa region, and our key markets are stabilizing in the Americas. This gives us the impetus to keep moving forward,” said Duncan Tait, CEO of Inchcape.

The results particularly highlight the agreed sale of its retail operations in the United Kingdom for £346 million. This strategic move aligns with its ongoing portfolio optimization. Additionally, there was solid momentum in APAC, with widespread organic growth in several markets, including Hong Kong and Singapore, also benefiting from acquisitions made in the 2023 fiscal year. Meanwhile, in Europe and Africa, the company exceeded expectations by achieving accelerated supply, significantly reducing backorders in some European markets.

Maintaining its disciplined approach to capital allocation, Inchcape announced an increase in its share buyback program to £150 million, reflecting its excellent cash flow performance and reaffirming its full-year outlook. In some markets, such as the United Kingdom, Inchcape has adopted a pure distribution model, allowing it to optimize its financial performance and better serve the needs of its manufacturer partners globally.

In the Americas, the company will seek to strengthen its participation as a distributor and in the retail market, with a model capable of making it the most efficient route to market for its manufacturing partners.

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