Auto Trader (AUTO) issued these numbers on the day of the general election, and the usual caveat highlighting the uncertain political and economic environment did little to boost investors' confidence. That said, headline figures were largely what analysts had expected: revenue rose 9 per cent (adjusted to take out the benefit of five extra trading days) to £311m, which, along with a 6 percentage point improvement in operating margins to 67 per cent, helped to lift operating profit to £203m. The dividend also rose to 5.2p, equal to a 33 per cent payout ratio.
The website recorded a 16 per cent improvement in visits last year to 55.4m per month - four times larger than its nearest competitor, according to the group. And even though the number of retailer forecourts advertising on the marketplace fell 2 per cent, this was predominantly in smaller and non-car related markets. As such, physical car stock on the site actually rose 3 per cent to 450,000 and revenue per retailer forecourt per month (ARPR) improved by £162 to £1,546. However, analysts at Peel Hunt said that figure might be "hard to replicate", with ARPR expected to normalise to 2016 levels this year.
Analysts at Numis expect pre-tax profit of £220m for the year ending March 2018, giving EPS of 18.2p, compared with £198m and 15.9p in FY2017.
AUTO TRADER (AUTO) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 410.3p | MARKET VALUE: | £4bn | |
| TOUCH: | 410-410.3p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 445p | LOW: 308p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.3% | PE RATIO: | 26 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | * | NET DEBT: | £355m | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 219 | 22.8 | na | nil |
| 2014 | 238 | 3.7 | -0.3 | nil |
| 2015 | 256 | 10.9 | 0.9 | nil |
| 2016 | 282 | 155 | 12.7 | 1.5 |
| 2017 | 311 | 193 | 15.6 | 5.2 |
| % change | +11 | +25 | +23 | +247 |
Ex-div: 31 Aug Payment: 29 Sep *Negative shareholders' funds | ||||
