LONDON (Alliance News) - Auto Trader Group PLC on Thursday said it is confident of meeting its growth expectations in its recently started financial year after reporting double-digit growth in annual profit.
The automotive marketplace revealed a 15% increase in pretax profit for the year to the end of March to GBP242.2 million from GBP210.7 million the year before, including GBP8.7 million profit recognised on disposal of its Smart Buying platform.
Revenue climbed 7.6% to GBP355.1 million from GBP330.1 million, with average revenue per retailer improving to GBP1,844 per month in financial 2019 from GBP1,695 the year before.
"We have achieved another strong year of revenue and profit growth driven by a line-up of products that are proven to improve the business performance of our retailer and manufacturer customers," explained Chief Executive Trevor Mather.
The FTSE 100-listed company highlighted that audience engagement remained strong during the year. Cross platform visits per month rose by 0.8% to 49.1 million, but full-page advert views per month decreased 2.8% to 239 million.
Auto trader declared a final dividend of 4.6 pence, taking the total payout for the year to 6.7p, up 14% from 5.9p paid the year before.
Looking ahead, Mather added: "The new financial year has started well, and despite the continued wider market uncertainty, the board is confident of meeting its growth expectations for the year."
Auto Trader said it expects to deliver strong average revenue per retailer growth in its current financial year, as it expects its consumer services business to improve its financial results.
Auto Trader (AUTO)
