Carma’s retail engine powers a record quarter

Retail volumes drive Carma’s strongest quarter

Carma Limited (ASX:CMA) has opened FY2027 with its strongest quarter yet, selling 2,100 vehicles and generating record revenue of $44.3 million. Total units rose 105% from the prior corresponding period, while gross profit increased 57% to a record $3.5 million.

Retail was the main engine. Carma sold 1,354 retail vehicles, up 114% year on year and 35% from the June quarter. That follows the company’s FY26 expansion, when revenue rose 59% to $113.8 million and gross profit more than doubled, as reported in the FY26 growth and profitability update.

Margins held in fast-moving retail inventory

The headline volume growth did not translate evenly across unit economics. Retail and other gross profit per retail vehicle was stable at $2,900, but total gross profit per retail unit fell 27% to $2,500. Carma attributed the decline to weaker wholesale gross profit and higher vehicle write-downs linked to softer market conditions in late FY26 and early Q1.

There were encouraging signs within the retail book. Vehicles sold within 30 days of being listed generated record retail gross profit of about $3,300 per unit, up 10% year on year, while online inventory days improved to 45 from 52 in Q4 FY2026. The company said used-car prices stabilised during the quarter and margins improved as it progressed; 96% of vehicles were sold within 120 days of listing.

Acquisition and reconditioning capacity reaches new highs

Carma purchased 2,121 vehicles during the quarter, an 86% increase on the prior corresponding period. Sell-to Carma and trade-ins supplied 1,965 of those vehicles, or 93% of total purchases, with the company’s nine-centre network supporting a record 1,432 retail vehicle purchases.

Reconditioning throughput also doubled year on year to 1,443 retail vehicles, averaging 21.9 units per shift. An internal system issue affected output in August and early September, but Carma said it had been resolved, with stronger monitoring controls introduced and the system being migrated to its proprietary technology stack.

Cash burn remains the harder number

The quarter’s operating cash flow was less flattering than its sales result. Carma used $10.2 million in operating activities and ended September with $13.1 million in cash and funds on deposit, alongside $16.0 million of unused finance facilities. That left total available funding of $29.1 million, equivalent to 2.9 quarters based on the reported operating cash outflow.

Carma said cash usage included $1.4 million spent on increasing vehicle inventory and $1.7 million of payroll and superannuation timing effects. Excluding those items, it calculated quarterly operating cash outflow at approximately $7.2 million and estimated funding coverage at 4.1 quarters. The company also drew $10.0 million from its secured bailment facility, which had a $30.0 million limit and $10.4 million drawn at quarter end.

Apollo program moves from plan to operation

The company said its Apollo program is progressing the migration from core third-party technology platforms to Carma’s own stack. During the quarter, it switched on AI voice calls for Sell-to Carma sellers and introduced AI tools intended to automate tasks previously handled manually. The filing does not quantify financial savings from those tools, leaving execution and cash conversion as the next practical test of the programme.