Manchester’s AutoTrader has released its half year figures this morning, showing profits of £114.5m.
This is up 9% from the previous year, based on a 7% increase in revenue, to £176.8m.
“We have had a great first half of the year driven by strong adoption of new products and advertising packages by both retailers and manufacturers,” said chief executive, Trevor Mather.
“We strengthened our market leading position with our audience of car buyers, by continuing to focus on providing the best car buying and selling experience in the UK. We do this by providing the best choice of cars, free valuations, extensive reviews and most recently showing finance options, so that car buyers can understand the monthly cost of owning their next vehicle.
“Despite a more challenging automotive market, we see many examples of our customers achieving strong results in their used car businesses by using Auto Trader services which help them to select, price and most effectively advertise their vehicles.”
Cross platform visits were nearly 4 times that of its nearest competitor, that compares to 3 times in the first half of last year. Full page advert views increased 1% to 247m per month and users spent an average of 585m minutes a month on its marketplace. This was a 2% decrease, but was an increase in market share.
Mather stated that as a result of the strong first half, growth for the full year was expected to exceed previous guidance. However he warned that Brexit negotiations would affect the company as it impacts upon consumer confidence and supply of cars into the UK market.
