Financial highlights
- Revenue up 10% to £281.6 million (20151: £255.9 million)
- Underlying operating profit up 19% to £171.3 million (2015: £144.1 million)
- Reported operating profit up 27% to £169.6 million (2015: £133.1 million)
- Basic EPS from continuing operations of 12.67p per share (2015: 0.85p)
- Operating cash flow up 30% to £177.0 million (2015: £135.8 million)
- Net external debt down £135.3 million to £392.6 million (2015: £527.9 million), representing a reduction in leverage to 2.2x (2015: 3.4x)
- Proposed final dividend of 1p per share, totalling 1.5p per share for the year
- Rolling programme of share buy-backs to commence imminently, with the majority of surplus cash after dividends being returned to shareholders
Operational highlights
- Consumer audience six times larger than that of the nearest competitor, as measured by cross platform visits
- Advert Views per month increased by 7.5% to 243 million (2015: 226 million)
- Number of retailer forecourts advertising on the Auto Trader marketplace up 0.5% at 13,514 (2015: 13,452)
- Average Revenue Per Retailer Forecourt (ARPR) per month up 10.5% to £1,384 (2015: £1,252)
Trevor Mather, Chief Executive of Auto Trader Group plc, said:
"We are delighted with the progress that the Group has made in its first full year as a public company. We have continued to enhance the value that we deliver to our vehicle retailer and manufacturer customers, not only by providing them with the largest and most engaged marketplace in which to market their vehicles, but also by giving them the tools to help them run their own businesses more effectively.
"Auto Trader remains the number one choice for consumers when they are looking to buy their next car. We are focused on making the whole car buying process easier and less stressful for consumers. We do this by using our own data and market insight to enhance our existing products and create innovative new solutions that help our customers win in the marketplace.
"The new financial year has started well, and the Board is confident of delivering continuous improvement in both our consumer and retailer solutions, as well as our overall performance in the coming year."
