We are delighted by today’s trading update which highlights substantial strategic and financial progress. The highlight is a return to net profitability (for the first time since 2017!) which is in itself a great achievement but even more so considering the industry backdrop. Gross margins increased 430bps to 36.4% and adj. EBITDA rose 71% to £2.4m (margin of 13.6%) all achieved despite a meaningful revenue headwind from disruptions at a key customer. Strong operational momentum, combined with a busy period of contract wins, drives upgrades to both FY27 and FY28 guidance, a rare feat in the automotive sector. Having successfully navigated the 'Survive' phase of its strategy, Autins is now firmly in 'Thrive' mode. On our revised forecasts, the shares trade on a FY27e PER of 5.8x which in our view makes little allowance for ongoing strategic and financial progress. Buy reaffirmed.
