PROGRESS
Shares in classified cars website Auto Trader closed up by nearly 9 per cent after it saw profits accelerate last year, despite increased economic uncertainty and a dip in consumer confidence meaning the “toughest market conditions” for three years.
The FTSE 250-listed firm’s pre-tax profit increased 10 per cent to £210.8 million in the year to 31 March, while revenue rose 7 per cent to £330.1m. It was buoyed by new features, such as allowing consumers to shop for cars by monthly payments.
The proposed final dividend came in at 4 pence per share, from 3.5 pence in the prior year, to total 5.9 pence per share, compared to 5.2 pence in its previous financial year.
Auto Trader Group chief executive Trevor Mather said: “This has been a strong year of revenue and profit growth for Auto Trader, driven predominately by retailer and manufacturer adoption of the new products that we launched throughout the year.
“Our market-leading position has been enhanced by consumers spending more
0 The website now lets consumers shop for cars by monthly payments.
PAUL RICHARDS, NUMIS time on our site interacting with the wide range of adverts, products and advice that we offer.
“We have taken a big step in our strategy of improving carbuying in the UK by launching the Dealer Finance product, which allows consumers to find their next car by monthly payment and allows retailers to advertise finance on their cars earlier in the buying journey.”
He also said that in spite of the “challenging” conditions for its customers in the past 12 months, “we have clearly seen that those who engage more closely with our products and our data are able to gain market share and improve efficiency. The new financial year has started well, and the board is confident of meeting its growth expectations for the year.”
Auto Trader noted that in the year to March, both new and used car transactions declined, “and industry forecasts suggest that both markets will continue to decline for the remainder of [2018]”.
“We believe the group continues to execute flawlessly on building value in the core areas of its business over which it has control.”