Companies: JCR   

Expanding Just Car Clinics, the UK’s second-largest independent accident repair chain, has motored in with another record year to December, during which profits increased by a third.

On turnover lifted by 32% to £36.8m, JCC, whose major customers are blue-chip insurers such as RBS, AXA and Zurich, recorded a 34% acceleration in pre-tax profits to almost £1.2m, driven by strong performances from established branches and improving contributions from acquired sites. Stripping out acquisitions made in 2006 and 2007, like-for-like turnover growth was healthy at 9%, with volume increases accounting for around 6% of the rise, boosted by management’s sharp focus on customer service and training.

Following the acquisition of three sites during 2007 – in Durham, Hinckley and Nottingham – and more recently a site in Swindon, JCC now has 21 repair centres under its control. Chief executive Barry Whittles is looking to acquire further sites in a fast-consolidating £5.4bn market, in which insurers are increasingly looking to work with larger groups like JCC and of which the company still only speaks for a miniscule 0.7%, leaving plenty of growth to go for.

For 2008, house broker Brewin Dolphin forecasts an increase in pre-tax profits to £1.3m from £42m sales, giving earnings of 6.2p and a 1.7p dividend, placing JCC on a prospective price-to-earnings ratio of 11.9 with emerging dividend yield appeal. In our view, that is a modest rating for a growing, cash-generative company with defensive appeal, since people will always crash cars at all stages of the economic cycle. First backed by Growth Company investor at 75p last year, the shares still have strong appeal.

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Just Car Clinics Group	AIM	£6.13m	42.00p	2.00p
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Other company articles:
Just Car Clinics			10/09/2008
Recession beaters			28/04/2008
Just Car Clinics			04/03/2008
Just Car Clinics			21/09/2007
JCC enters second growth phase			27/03/2007