Auction Technology Group PLC (LSE:ATG) joined the large group of shares hitting new lows after it reported full-year earnings ahead of expectations but warned that the market remains "relatively uncertain".
Revenue for the operator of marketplaces for curated online auctions, including its own thesaleroom.com and i-bidder.com, was £135.2 million for the year to 30 September, up 13% on the previous year, boosted by February's addition of EstateSales.NET (ESN), or 5% on an organic basis, which was slightly lower than expected.
However, underlying profits (EBITDA) rose 19% to £64 million, which was slightly ahead of forecasts, and basic earnings per share of 13.9p were significantly ahead.
New products have seen strong adoption, with atgPay across LiveAuctioneers and Proxibid, and the launch of atgShip, a new integrated shipping service, on LiveAuctioneers.
The growth of total hammer value (THV) and gross merchandise value (GMV) have been impacted by macroeconomic factors over the course of the year, the company said.
"In the short term, the business continues to be impacted by underlying market growth which remains relatively uncertain," it added, while growth of value-added services such as atgPay and atgShip are helping offset this.
For the new financial year, the board said the organic revenue growth outlook was between 5% to 8%, with total revenue growth higher due to the contribution of ESN, and with adjusted EBITDA margin expected to be maintained.
The shares fell 16.5% to 526p on Thursday morning.
Broker Peel Hunt said any positive changes to the macro backdrop in coming months would provide upside against these numbers, "nevertheless, today’s news is not what the market was bidding for".