Autotrader Group faces slower sales as customer numbers drop; shares fall (updated)
21/05/2026 08:48
Rewrites, adds shares, details May 21 (Reuters) - British automotive marketplace Autotrader AUTO.L on Thursday reported flat revenue in April due to a fall in retailer customer numbers and a smaller price increase, signaling a sluggish start to the year and sending shares down over 3%. Here are some details: • Revenue rose 4% to £624.3 million ($838.4 million) for the year ended March 31, but growth decelerated to 3% in the second half and slowed further in the fourth quarter • The company expects revenue growth to accelerate in the second half of 2027 • Shares fell 3.1% to 480.9 pence in early trade • The firm's board said the prevailing share price did not reflect the company's fundamentals and plans to return around £600 million to shareholders in fiscal 2027, including roughly £500 million in buybacks • Average revenue per retailer - a closely watched metric - rose 5% to £2,995 per month, driven by its AI-powered Co-Driver product • The average number of retailer customers fell 1% on an annual basis • Autotrader forecast 2027 operating profit in the range of £395 million to £415 million, a notch higher than the £392.7 million profit it reported in 2026 • As of Wednesday's close, shares had fallen 15.4% so far this year ($1 = 0.7447 pounds) (Reporting by DhanushVignesh Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Mrigank Dhaniwala) ((DhanushVignesh.Babu@thomsonreuters.com))