After a very brief look the results appear to be very good given...

After a very brief look the results appear to be very good given the circumstances, sales up 4.8% and EPS basically flat at 71.8cps smashing the Commsec EPS consensus forecast of 63.3cps (partially thanks to JobKeeper no doubt!). Some concerns are that the net margins continue their gradual decline and with ARB's Melbourne production facility running at 40% capacity in stage 4 lockdown and the running down of inventories will make it difficult to take advantage of the surge in orders post the initial COVID-19 panic. The flipside to running down inventories is that their cash position has improved by $33.1m after declining last year.

ARB's quality is proving to be a godsend in these stricken (in Melbourne) times and I'm sure the reinstatement of dividends will keep us retail punters onside. They will just have to wait until things settle for any special dividend to be an option for the board.