Auto Trader Group PLC (LSE:AUTO) boosted group revenue by 12% in the first half of fiscal 2024, driven by its car leasing platform and retail valuation products, according to the results posted today.
The car trading platform operator’s share price rose by more than 7% this morning after the release of its interim financial results.
Group revenue rose to £280.5 million in the first half, up from £249.8 million in the same period last year, with particularly strong growth in the Autorama car leasing business.
The group said record numbers of buyers used the Auto Trader platform and that the used car market remained resilient with stable consumer sentiment, robust pricing and quick sales.
Business in the used car market has grown because the supply of used cars has improved as new car registrations have increased, it said.
Auto Trader said it is also exploring opportunities in the new car market, advertising new leased cars and integrating car leasing play Autorama, which it said should benefit from volume growth when supply returns.
The company said it is also expanding its Deal Builder product, which allows car buyers to complete most of the car buying process online, including part-exchange, finance and reservation.
Auto Trader said it had about 500 retailers trialling the service at the end of September 2023 and completed some 2,100 deals in the period, more than 10 times the number of transactions made through the product last year.
Its Valuations product, which uses machine learning, is one example of how the company is utilising artificial intelligence (AI) across its business, alongside its application in ratings, the search relevancy algorithm, ranking adverts and personalising the search experience.