Unlocking full potential
Diversification will remain a key driver for Turners Automotive Group as it drives forward.
The company says it remains confident in its trajectory and expects to deliver its $65 million profit target for 2027/28 a year early.
“That will be the third time we’ve beaten a multi-year target ahead of schedule,” say Todd Hunter, chief executive officer, and chairman Grant Baker.
“And after that, we’ll have our sights firmly set on $100m by financial year 2031. The platform is built, the team is exceptional and we have a five-year strategy, which we believe is credible, funded and executable.
“We have great businesses that are even better together. Each part of our business makes the others stronger, and the platform we’ve assembled is one that cannot be quickly or easily replicated.
“That’s what the next chapter is about – not building something new from scratch, but unlocking the full potential of what we’ve already built. We are genuinely excited about what that looks like.”
As for the past financial year, late March brought fresh uncertainty as geopolitical events weighed on consumer sentiment and trading in automotive retail during April was subdued.
“We’ve seen this before. In auto retail, we have implemented the same ‘tough macro’ playbook used in financial years 2024 and 2025 with a strong cost focus, more selective buying and positioning inventory for where demand is, including cheaper smaller-engine vehicles and increased purchasing of smaller hybrids.
“In the meantime, finance and insurance keep building. They are annuity businesses so don’t stop when a car yard gets quiet. That diversification is enormously valuable in periods like this.”
The year in review
Baker and Turner say 2025/26 and its record result is a reason to feel good about where Turners is heading. Net profit before tax (NPAT) of $63.2m was ahead of upgraded guidance.
“We’ve performed well in a down cycle and will perform even better in an upcycle. A decade of disciplined strategy has brought us to this point – a deeply integrated platform, a national network that’s difficult to replicate and a pathway to the next phase of growth. We’re not stopping here.”
They report consumer confidence remained fragile through much of the 2026 financial year, particularly in the first half. Demand was subdued, stock was expensive to source and the market “wasn’t giving anything away”.
Baker and Hunter, pictured above, say: “Our team responded to challenging conditions with discipline – careful inventory management, selective buying and a focus on credit quality.
“That discipline set up a second half that was the strongest in our history, culminating in a record fourth quarter with strong vehicle-sales volumes, improved margins, and record new lending months in January and February.
“Our finance business was one of the stars of 2026’s result. Growing a loan book 27 per cent while tightening credit standards isn’t something many lenders can say. Consumer arrears at 2.5 per cent against the industry’s 5.6 per cent is a gap that’s widened over the past two years, a reflection of how we assess and manage credit risk.
“The securitisation warehouse we completed in October 2025 was a milestone. It validates the quality of our loan book in capital markets, lower cost of funds and provides funding infrastructure to keep growing.
“From a funding perspective, we’re in a strong position. The termed-out securitisation warehouse, combined with new syndicated banking facilities signed in April, provides a robust platform to support our financial year 2031 ambitions while maintaining balance-sheet discipline.
“Importantly, the warehouse term-out and extension of our syndicated banking facilities at higher facility levels are a sign of confidence from our funders.
Targets meant to be beaten
Since 2021, Turners has set multi-year profit targets and hit them early. It delivered its $45m target for 2023/24 and $50m target for 2024/25 a year ahead of schedule. Based on financial year 2026’s momentum, it expects to deliver the $65m target for 2027/28 in 2026/27.
“We don’t set targets to manage expectations,” say Baker and Hunter in the company’s annual report, which was released on June 26.
“We set them to stretch ourselves and then hold ourselves accountable. At our March 2026 investor day, we set the next chapter – $100m NPBT by financial year 2031. We aim to provide shareholders with a reliable and growing cash return while retaining enough capital to fund growth.”
The board has declared a final dividend of nine cents per share, fully imputed, taking the full-year dividend to 33cps. That’s up by 14 per cent on last year, for a compound annual rate of 10.5 per cent over the past 12 years.
“Sustaining this return of value requires the same discipline in capital allocation that has characterised this business from the beginning and the board remains firmly committed to it.”
How divisions performed
Turners Cars has continued to build on its position as New Zealand’s largest buyer and seller of used vehicles.
Its sourcing strategy, increasingly focused on domestic supply, is proving to be a “genuine competitive advantage” and the ongoing expansion of its network is “reinforcing” presence in key markets. This division also saw strong performance from its commercial divisions, damaged and end-of-life revenues.
“Strategically, the biggest opportunity remains expanding the branch network and we have kept up our momentum despite the macro backdrop,” say Hunter and Baker.
Oxford Finance delivered another strong result in 2025/26 with its loan book growing in volume and quality. Consumer lending has gone up while commercial lending has dropped, and a new unsecured lending product has been performing well. Arrears stayed “well below market levels, a testament to our disciplined approach to credit”.
Autosure continued to build momentum in the insurance sector, particularly through its digital and direct-to-consumer channels.
Early sales activity after launching a mechanical breakdown insurance product for the private-to-private car market “has been encouraging and validates this channel as a complementary, scalable growth opportunity”.
Turners Servicing & Repairs, still in its early stages, is already positioning the group to capture a “meaningful” share of a $3 billion market that “:sits alongside everything else” it does.
“As flagged earlier in the year, we reviewed the carrying value of the EC Credit business, resulting in a non-cash goodwill write down of $7.5m,” explain Hunter and Baker.
“EC Credit is the smallest part of our group and is non-core to our automotive platform strategy. Our focus, capital and energy are firmly pointed at the automotive ecosystem where we see the most compelling long-term opportunity.
“We will keep investing in our people, property, technology and brands to ensure the platform we’ve built remains the one Kiwis turn to when it comes to buying, selling, financing, insuring and servicing their vehicles.”
