Auto Trader Group plc (LON:AUTO), the UK’s largest automotive platform, has announced half year results for the six months ended 30 September 2025
Strategic overview
– Group revenue increased 5%, Group operating profit increased 6% and Basic EPS increased 11%. Core Autotrader revenue and operating profit increased 5% and Autorama losses halved year-on-year.
– Retailer revenue grew at 6%, through a 1% increase in the number of retailer forecourts and Average Revenue Per Retailer (‘ARPR’) growth of 5%. Much of this ARPR growth came from our annual pricing and product event on 1 April 2025. As expected, this growth was lower than our long-term average due to fast stock turn resulting in both prominence penetration and paid stock being marginally lower year-on-year.
– As part of our annual pricing and product event we launched Co-Driver, our generative AI product which helps retailers create high quality vehicle listings in significantly less time, while also improving the experience for car buyers.
– We see a rich future pipeline of AI opportunities to drive improved performance, efficiency and time saving for our customers. These opportunities build on our advertising, data and digital retailing products. Autotrader is a trusted brand, offering a comprehensive car buying experience and proprietary real-time vehicle level data. Most buyers continue to come directly to Autotrader, but for the 18% that find us through organic search we believe AI tools will become an alternative interface and we will increase our visibility across these platforms.
– We are continuing to scale Deal Builder to become the core consumer proposition on Autotrader, reflecting the change in approach that we outlined at our full year results. Over the past six months, we have grown retailers by c.2,000, ending the period with over 4,000 live with the product. This represents an accelerated rate of customer acquisition which was four times greater in H1 than the preceding six months.
Car market overview
– We continue to see strong levels of demand for used cars, with a record number of cross platform visits spent on Autotrader and continued high levels of engagement. The number of cars advertised on site during the first half also increased, in part reflecting the stock offer we ran through the early part of the financial year.
– Within the trade segment, there was a 2% increase in unique cars sold during the first half, which compared with 1% underlying growth in the average number of used cars live on site (when adjusting for the offer period mentioned above), meaning a slight increase in the speed at which those cars sold.
– The new car market grew 3% over the six-month period, with continued strength in volumes through the fleet channel rather than through retail. The implementation of a new Government electric vehicle grant, combined with an increasing number of new entrant brands, is likely to support further volume growth in the second half of the year.
Financial results
| £m (unless otherwise specified) | H1 2026 | H1 2025 | Change |
| Autotrader1 | 296.3 | 283.5 | 5% |
| Autorama | 21.4 | 19.0 | 13% |
| Group revenue | 317.7 | 302.5 | 5% |
| Autotrader1 | 208.0 | 197.5 | 5% |
| Autorama | (1.4) | (2.8) | 50% |
| Group central costs2 – relating to Autorama acquisition | (6.5) | (6.3) | (3%) |
| Group operating profit | 200.1 | 188.4 | 6% |
| Autotrader operating profit margin | 70% | 70% | – |
| Group operating profit margin | 63% | 62% | 1% pts |
| Basic earnings per share (pence) | 17.26 | 15.56 | 11% |
| Cash generated from operations3 | 215.4 | 201.6 | 7% |
– We have returned £162.2m to shareholders (H1 2025: £122.2m) through £100.2m of share buybacks and dividends of £62.0m.
– Interim dividend declared of 3.8 pence per share (H1 2025: 3.5 pence per share).
Operational results
– Over 75% of all minutes spent on automotive marketplaces were spent on Autotrader4 (H1 2025: over 75%). Cross platform visits5,6 were up 1% to 83.3 million per month (H1 2025: 82.6 million) and cross platform minutes5,6 were broadly consistent at 559 million per month (H1 2025: 560 million).
– The average number of retailer forecourts5 in the period increased 1% to 14,080 (H1 2025: 13,986).
– Average Revenue Per Retailer5 (‘ARPR’) per month was up 5% (or £142) to £2,994 on average (H1 2025: £2,852), driven by a positive contribution from both the price and product levers.
– Live car stock5,7 onsite was up 2% to 457,000 cars (H1 2025: 448,000) on average, with this increase being due to an offer which ran at the beginning of the six-month period. We delivered 3,687 new lease vehicles which was 16% higher than the previous year (H1 2025: 3,180).
– The average number of employees8 (‘FTEs’) in the Group was broadly flat at 1,249 during the period (H1 2025: 1,252).
Nathan Coe, Chief Executive Officer of Autotrader, said:
“In 2025, we continued our decade-long journey of creating AI-powered products that improve the buying and selling experience on Autotrader and help drive improved performance, efficiency and time-saving for our customers. This year, over 10,000 of our customers have used our Co-Driver product to deliver over 1 million improved vehicle adverts, enhancing the buying journey.”
“By combining this technology with our proprietary data, alongside scaling our Deal Builder product, we’re improving car buying and selling across the UK.”
“As a result of this strategic progress, we remain confident in the outlook, supported by our strong market position, customer value, and unique data and technology.”
2026 Outlook
We have delivered in line with our expectations for H1, and our full year outlook remains unchanged.
Analyst presentation
A presentation for analysts will be held in person at the offices of Deutsche Numis and via audio webcast and conference call at 9.30am, Thursday 6 November 2025. Details below:
Audio webcast: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/mtcebr9u
Conference call registration: https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BI15705c11364845ec97228f02022c268b
If you have any trouble registering or accessing either the conference call or webcast, please contact Sodali & Co on the details below.
