Auto Trader 2018 interim results
- Revenue up 7% to £165.0 million (H1 2017: £153.9 million)
- Operating profit up 9% to £109.6 million (H1 2017: £100.6 million)
- Profit before tax up 10% to £105.4 million (H1 2017: £95.5 million)
- Cash generated from operations up 11% to £114.2 million (H1 2017: £103.2 million)
- Basic EPS up 14% to 8.72p per share (H1 2017: 7.65p)
- Net external debt down to £347.2 million (March 2017: £355.0 million) with leverage at 1.55x (March 2017: 1.65x)
- Returned £70.3 million to shareholders through £36.3 million of share buy-backs (H1 2017: £48.6 million) plus dividends paid of £34.0 million (H1 2017: £nil)
- Interim dividend of 1.9p per share (H1 2017: 1.7p per share)
- Operating cost growth of 4%, of which 2% relates to Motor Trade Delivery ('MTD') acquired in April 2017, resulting in operating profit margin of 66% (H1 2017: 65%)
