Tracking to record growth
Turners Automotive Group says it remains on track to deliver a record first-half performance for its 2025/26 financial year.
The company expects net profit before tax to be more than 10 per cent ahead of the same period in the previous financial year, which came in at a record $26.9 million.
The update was provided to the NZX on August 25 by Todd Hunter, pictured, chief executive officer, “despite a challenging economic backdrop, low levels of consumer confidence, restrictive interest rates and rising unemployment”.
He says the first half of trading for the automotive retail division is ahead of 2024/25 with a reduction in consignment vehicles offset by higher sales of owned vehicles.
There were some temporary headwinds from the opening of its Christchurch branch expansion projects during the first quarter, “but those sites are now gaining momentum”.
The announcement adds: “The launch of Tina from Turners 2.0 marketing campaign has resulted in a $600,000 upweighted media investment to support the new campaign with benefits to accrue over coming quarters.”
These initiatives are expected to drive stronger vehicle margins and volumes in the second half of the 2026 fiscal year “with benefits from the campaign flowing through, combined with the expanded Christchurch footprint and an improving economic environment”.
Branch expansion plans continue to gather momentum and the company has several “live” negotiations under way.
Its finance division has seen strong book growth in the first four months of 2025/26 with the loan book up by five per cent compared to March 2025 levels.
Maintaining credit discipline remains a key priority and solid book growth is expected for the rest of financial year 2026, while “the tailwind of lower interest rates is expected to underpin interest margins”.
The insurance business “continues to perform well with earned premium holding up and claims ratios remaining stable. New distribution arrangements and direct sales channels are gaining momentum, and our motor-vehicle insurance portfolio underwritten by Vero is expected to continue its strong growth trajectory”.
As for credit management, “the struggling economy is leading to increased consumer arrears and our level of debt referred is increasing. We onboarded a significant new corporate customer in April and are well-positioned to help businesses for the next phase of the credit cycle”.
