The fall-out from the Volkswagen scandal continues to weigh on the UK car market, with demand for diesels falling for the 14th consecutive month and the number of new car registrations down 11 per cent in the year through to March. Hardly an ideal backdrop for online car retailer Auto Trader (AUTO), but at least prices for used vehicles increased over the same period.
Faced with a deteriorating market, the group is making it as easy as possible to buy a car through its website. Monthly payment instalments are now an option, and a new app allows buyers to take a virtual tour of their prospective vehicles. It’s difficult to gauge the impact of these measures as trading was essentially flat, with a slight reduction in retailer numbers mitigated by an increase in vehicle volumes. Shareholders can take heart from an increase in average revenue per retailer forecourt, which fed through to a 10 per cent rise in operating profit to £221m.
Numis expects pre-tax profits of £225m in the year to March 2019, giving EPS of 19.2p, compared with £211m and 17.7p in FY2018.
| AUTO TRADER (AUTO) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 375p | MARKET VALUE: | £3.56bn | |
| TOUCH: | 375-375.3p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 439p | LOW: 313p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.6% | PE RATIO: | 21 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 0.5p* | NET DEBT: | £339m | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 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 |
| 2018 | 330 | 211 | 17.8 | 5.9 |
| % change | +6 | +9 | +14 | +13 |
| Ex-div: | 30 Aug | |||
| Payment: | 28 Sep | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £330m, or 35p a share | ||||
