Business
Half-year Report
Half-year Report.
About this update from Autotrader Group Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \nRNS Number : 7010G Auto Trader Group plc 08 November 2018 \n\n \n \nEmbargoed until 7.00am, 8 November 2018\nAUTO TRADER GROUP PLC\nHALF YEAR RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018\nAuto Trader Group plc ('Auto Trader', 'the Group'), the UK's largest digital automotive marketplace, announces half year results for the six months ended 30 September 2018.\nFinancial highlights1\n- Revenue up 7% to £176.8 million (H1 2018: £165.0 million)\n- Average Revenue Per Retailer forecourt ('ARPR') per month2 up £152 to £1,826 (H1 2018: £1,674), driven by product and price growth \n- Operating profit up 10% to £120.6 million (H1 2018 restated: £109.9 million) resulting in Operating profit margin of 68% (H1 2018 restated: 67%) \n- Profit before tax up 9% to £114.5 million (H1 2018 restated: £105.3 million)\n- Basic EPS up 12% to 9.78p per share (H1 2018 restated: 8.71p)\n- Cash generated from operations3 up 12% to £129.0 million (H1 2018 restated: £115.1 million)\n- Net external debt4 down to £319.4 million (March 2018: £338.7 million) with leverage5 at 1.31x (March 2018: 1.46x) \n- Returned £80.8 million to shareholders through £42.9 million of share buy-backs (H1 2018: £36.3 million) and dividends paid of £37.9 million (H1 2018: £34.0 million)\n- Interim dividend of 2.1p per share (H1 2018: 1.9p per share)\nThe Group adopted the new accounting standard for Leases ('IFRS 16') from 1 April 2018 using the fully retrospective approach. The comparative period ended 30 September 2017 has therefore been restated. \n \nOperational highlights\n- Record growth from both new and existing retailer products. We successfully monetised our Dealer Finance product in April, along with increasing penetration of Advanced and Premium packages and 'Managing' products\n- Our new car advertising proposition, and in particular our InSearch product is gaining traction following its launch last year. In what has been a tough market, InSearch has attracted incremental spend from manufacturers and their agencies, due to its ability to o...