Auto Trader grows sales, earnings and profit in first year as a listed company
Online car selling service Auto Trader grew sales and profit in its first year as a publicly listed company
The figures
Revenue increased by 10 per cent to £281.6m in the 2016 financial year, up from £255.9m in 2015.
Operating profit increased by 27 per cent to £169.6m, from £133.1m, and earnings per share grew to 12.67p per share, up from 0.85p per share.
The company has proposed a final dividend of 1p per share, meaning the total dividend for the year would be 1.5p per share.
Why it's interesting
This is the first set of full-year results the company has reported since listing on the London Stock Exchange in March last year. The company got off to a good start when it floated, with shares up 13 per cent on the first day of trading – and the stock has continued to perform well since, hitting an all time high in November when the group announced its first dividend.
[charts-share-price id="296"]
What Auto Trader said
Auto Trader chief exec Trevor Mather 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."
In short
Auto Trader is continuing to drive growth a year on from its IPO.