ONLINE VEHICLE SALES GIANT WEBUYCARS REVENUE PICKS UP AHEAD OF JSE LISTING

ONLINE vehicle sales are on the resurgence for WeBuyCars, which is listing on the JSE next month after unbundling from Transaction Capital, said yesterday in a trading update that the car dealer had bought 14 354 vehicles and sold 13 132 units in February. Transaction Capital is hoping to bag as much as R1 billion from the unbundling and separate listing of WeBuyCars. Despite the trading update yesterday showing stronger revenue and sales performance by WeBuyCars, shares in Transaction Capital declined by 3.16% to R9.51 in afternoon trade on the JSE. “The sales number for February, 2024 is pleasing, with sales per-day volumes in-line with January, 2024, and this positive momentum has continued into March. Revenue for February was R1.8bn and core earnings R66 million,” said Transaction Capital in its trading update ahead of the April 11 listing of WeBuyCars on the JSE. E-commerce vehicle sales tallying 17 695 accounted for 26.7% of the company’s total 66 276 vehicles sold during the five months period to end February compared to 12 151 in the previous contrasting period. WeBuyCars’s balance sheet had continued to be conservatively geared with net debt of R1.15bn consisting primarily of mortgage loans of R733m on several vehicle supermarkets, and working capital facilities of R421m to fund inventory. Cash generated in the five months to end February, however, decreased by 24% to R305m. The decrease in cash generated …is primarily due to the increase in inventory, as more vehicles were bought relative to sales for the period. |