(Alliance News) – Auto Trader Group PLC on Thursday said the UK car market is “in good health”, despite macro-economic worries, with strong demand for used cars and the recently signed trade agreement with the US likely to support new car sales over the next several years.
Manchester, England-based Auto Trader is the owner of the UK’s largest online automotive marketplace.
It reported pretax profit of GBP375.7 million for its financial year that ended March 31, rising 8.8% from GBP345.2 million the year before.
Revenue grew 5.3% to GBP601.1 million from GBP570.9 million, and operating profit margin widened to 63% from 61% as operating profit rose 8.1% to GBP376.8 million from GBP348.7 million.
Basic earnings per share were 31.66 pence, up 12% from 28.15p.
Revenue was just short of company-compiled market consensus of GBP606.4 million, though within the range of forecasts of GBP600.8 million to GBP610.6 million. Operating profit was as expected, with consensus having sat at GBP376.4 million. EPS was above consensus of 31.18p, with a range of 30.61p to 31.65p.
Auto Trader declared a final dividend of 7.1 pence per share, up 11% on-year from 6.4p and bringing its total dividend for the year up 10% to 10.6p per share from 9.6p. This was slightly better than the 10.49p market consensus for the annual payout.
Looking ahead, Auto Trader said it has seen a 5% increase in the number of cars advertised through its platform, and expects overall new car registration volumes to be well supported over the next two to three years with the announcement of a new UK-US trade deal and plans to soften the zero emission vehicle mandate.
“Despite broader macroeconomic uncertainties, the UK car market is in good health and we continue to deliver against our strategy to improve car buying and retailing,” Chief Executive Officer Nathan Coe said.
“We remain confident in the outlook for the business given our strong market position, the value we deliver for customers, and our unique data and technology capabilities.”
Retailer revenue growth is expected to improve from the recent 5% to between 5% and 7% in financial 2026, and operating profit margins expected to increase as a result of an anticipated reduction in losses within Autorama, in line with market consensus.
Auto Trader shares were down 14% to 778.40 pence early Thursday in London, the worst performer in the FTSE 100 index, which itself was down 0.1%.
Peel Hunt said the Auto Trader’s financial 2025 revenue and EPS was 1% below the broker’s own forecasts, and the company’s guidance for financial 2026 suggest a 5% to 6% downgrade to its own EPS forecast and about 4% to the market consensus forecast.
By Tom Waite, Alliance News editor
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
