Auto Trader Group plc drives profits up 10%

The launch of new products for retailers and manufacturers has helped digital marketplace Auto Trader Group plc achieve an uptick in profits and revenues.

The Manchester-headquartered company made a pre-tax profit of £210.8m in the 12 months to March 31 2018, a year-on-year increase of 10%.

Revenues for the period climbed 7%, rising from £311.4m to £330.1m

Operationally, much remained the same in 2017/18 as in the year previous; average physical car stock on site was up 1% to 453,000 cars and full page advert views per month dipped marginally, from 247 million views to 246 million.

The introduction of new InSearch and video products to help manufacturers target new car buyers more effectively, and the re-launch of advertising packages for retailers, were the predominant drivers of growth.

Auto Trader Group CEO Trevor Mather said: “This has been a strong year of revenue and profit growth for Auto Trader, driven predominately by retailer and manufacturer adoption of the new products that we launched throughout the year.

“Our market leading position has been enhanced by consumers spending more time on our site interacting with the wide range of adverts, products and advice that we offer.”

He continued: “Auto Trader is uniquely placed to help current customers and other automotive players adapt to the evolving automotive environment in the UK, and despite the challenging conditions for our customers in the past 12 months we have clearly seen that those who engage more closely with our products and our data are able to gain market share and improve efficiency.

“The new financial year has started well, and the Board is confident of meeting its growth expectations for the year.”

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