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Auto Trader Group PLC on Thursday raised its interim dividend as it unveiled financial results for the first half with strong profit and revenue growth. The Manchester, England-based firm which operates the UK’s largest automotive marketplace said pretax profit rose 15% to £187.5 million in the first half ended September 30 from £162.8 million a year prior. Diluted earnings per share were 15.52 pence, up 22% from 12.71p. Revenue increased 7.8% to £302.5 million from £280.5 million, as operating costs reduced by 1.1% to £115.9 million from £117.2 million. Revenue from the Auto Trader platform rose 9.3% to £283.5 million while revenue from the Autorama leasing platform declined 10% to £19.0 million. Auto Trader declared a 3.5 pence per share interim dividend, a 9.4% increase from 3.2p last year. Chief Executive Officer Nathan Coe said: ‘˙Our strong results for the first half of this year reflect the record numbers of customers choosing to partner with us to retail vehicles and drive the performance of their businesses. ‘We are pleased with the progress of Deal Builder, which allows car buyers to secure their vehicle on Auto Trader and to complete more of the buying journey online. We have also recently launched Co-Driver, a new suite of AI-powered tools which significantly improves the automotive retailing experience for consumers and retailers alike.’ The company reduced both non-current and current borrowings to nil from £49.8 million and £1.1 million respectively in the first half. Looking ahead, Auto Trader said retailer forecourts are likely to remain strong and mostly consistent with the first half. ‘As this increase came from smaller lower yielding retailers, the growth in both the price and product levers was diluted, which we also expect to continue,’ Auto Trader said. ‘Compared to our original outlook, the impact on revenue from having more retailers but with lower price and product contribution should broadly cancel each other out.’ Auto Trader expects ‘modest margin expansion’ at a group level in financial 2025. Auto Trader shares were down 4.5% at 805.60 pence each in London on Thursday morning. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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