Colonial reported an operating profit of $11.5 million for the six months ended December, up 36% on the previous corresponding period and ahead of Forsyth Barr's forecast of $9.3 million.
Forsyth Barr had lifted its valuation by 20c per share to $3.50. Colonial last traded at $2.90.
Ms Van Leeuwen said Colonial had again outperformed national car sales trends in the first half and its exposure to the primary sector had enabled the company to deliver growth revenue while also improving margins.
The company's four Christchurch businesses all traded well during the period and made significant contributions to the first-half result.
Team Hutchison Ford, located in the central city, was the most affected by the earthquakes and was yet to have full use of the site after having several buildings demolished. The site was operational on a smaller scale and Colonial was working through the insurance claims and approvals required, she said.
No formal guidance was given for the full year but Colonial indicated the second half was not expected to be as good as the six months to December.
The second-half profit was still expected to show growth but at a lower rate than achieved in the December period, mainly due to a slowdown in tractor and heavy vehicle sales, Ms Van Leeuwen said.
"We expect this weakness to be partially offset by a lift in car sales during the second half as has already occurred over the past three months - November to January."
New car sales reached the highest monthly total since 2008, driven by an ongoing supply catch-up after the Japanese earthquake and Thai floods disrupted production output.
