Australia's largest car dealer has lifted its first half profit by seven per cent, off the back off record vehicle sales across the sector.
Automotive Holdings posted a first half net profit of $48.2 million, up from $45 million a year ago.
AHG managing director Bronte Howson told AAP he was "pretty pleased" with the results and that the company was on track to achieve between $97 million and $103 million profit for the full year.
"Automotive is a big driver of the result of the company," he said, citing 1.5 million car sales in 2015 and an expected 1.6 million in 2016.
But it wasn't all good news for AHG, as results also showed profits for the refrigerated logistics side of the business fell by almost 10 per cent.
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The pre-tax profit for the half year ending December 31 was $12.9 million, compared to $14.3 million the previous year.
The biggest challenge to logistics came in December, Mr Howson said, when a derailment occurred along the train line between east and western Australia.
That part of the business was out of action for six days, which caused major delays and damage to equipment.
Despite the setback, Mr Howson is confident logistics will contribute to a stronger second half due to a series of cost-cutting measures and a PwC review.
Other developments in the near future include the sale of auto parts distribution company Covs for upwards of $30 million and a new chief executive of logistics, Stephen Cleary, to drive efficiencies and cost-cuts.
AUTOMOTIVE HOLDINGS HALF YEAR RESULTS
* Net profit up 7pct to $48.2m
* Revenue up 7.2pct to $2.75 billion
* Interim dividend of 9.5 cents up from 9 cents last year.
