Companies: JCR   

Backed earlier this year by GCI at 75p, collision repair group Just Car Clinics (chaired by serial AIM chairman David Hickey) motored home with strong half-time figures to June and delighted followers by hitting the dividend trail.

Turnover rose 34% to £18.1m, with like-for-like sales growth strong at 11%, of which 3% reflected price increases and 8% rising repair volumes. Pre-tax profits sped up by 43% to £555,000, with margins improving to 3.1% (2.9%). During the half, weather was ‘relatively beneficial’ in terms of boosting claims volumes, although flooding meant a large number of cars were written off rather than repaired.

Enjoying strong growth in its core business – growing volumes and adding sites (through acquisitions and organic development) – Just Car Clinics’ forecasts were upgraded for the second time this calendar year following the figures. Investors can now expect a pre-tax profits rise from £900,000 to £1.1m for December 2007, ahead of £1.3m from £38.3m sales next year. An earnings pullback from 6.1p to 5.5p is forecast for the current year, with tax payable and an increase in the fully diluted number of shares at play.

However, for 2008, earnings should come in at 6.2p, placing Just Car Clinics on forward multiples of 16.1 for 2007 and 14.3 for 2008. Needless to say, those estimates don’t include further bolt-on acquisitions, and with this cash-generative counter marking its growing maturity by declaring a 0.5p maiden dividend, we expect the shares to accelerate higher. Add.

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Just Car Clinics Group	AIM	£6.13m	42.00p	2.00p
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