TIDMAUTO
RNS Number : 3999B
Auto Trader Group plc
10 June 2021
Embargoed until 7.00am, 10 June 2021
AUTO TRADER GROUP PLC
FULL YEAR RESULTS FOR THE YEARED 31 MARCH 2021
Auto Trader Group plc ('Auto Trader', 'the Group'), the UK's
largest digital automotive marketplace, announces full year results
for the year ended 31 March 2021
Strategic overview
- We have made good progress in developing important aspects of
our online car buying journey, namely the launch of guaranteed
part-exchange, the trial of vehicle reservations and the
acquisition of a financing platform, AutoConvert. The shift online
in automotive retailing has accelerated, and with these core
components we are well placed to bring more of the buying process
online for the benefit of both buyers and sellers.
- This online journey is being built on our marketplace, which
has strengthened over the year. Car buyers are using Auto Trader at
record levels and our current retailer forecourt numbers are
significantly higher than they were 12 months ago, reinforcing our
competitive position.
- During the year, we provided significant support to our
retailer customers, acknowledging the challenge of selling cars in
lockdown. This included free advertising in April 2020, May 2020,
December 2020 and February 2021, and at a discounted rate in June
2020. As expected, this has impacted our financial results, however
it has improved our standing with customers and the strength with
which we have emerged from the most recent lockdown
restrictions.
- On 1 April 2020, at a time of great uncertainty, we announced
the placing of approximately 46m shares, raising net proceeds of
GBP182.9m, which strengthened our balance sheet and liquidity
position, whilst also helping us to accelerate our digital
retailing proposition.
- We furloughed approximately 25% of our employees for almost
seven weeks but reversed this as soon as we had confidence that we
would return to profitability. We returned all funds received under
the furlough scheme and have made all tax payments deferred at the
end of the previous financial year.
Financial results
- Revenue down 29% to GBP262.8 million (2020: GBP368.9 million).
Trade revenue down 31% to GBP225.2 million (2020: GBP324.3
million), as a result of the decision to provide free advertising
to our retailer customers in April, May, December and February and
at a discounted rate in June.
- Operating profit down 38% to GBP161.2 million (2020: GBP258.9
million) with Operating profit margin decreasing to 61% (2020:
70%). Costs reduced by 8% to GBP104.0 million (2020: GBP113.2
million).
- Profit before tax down 37% to GBP157.4 million (2020: GBP251.5 million).
- Basic EPS down 40% to 13.24p per share (2020: 22.19p).
- Cash generated from operations(1) down 42% to GBP152.9 million (2020: GBP265.5 million).
- Following the share placement and subsequent trading results
we had a net cash position of GBP15.7 million at year end (March
2020: Net bank debt(2) of GBP275.4 million and leverage(3) of
1.0x).
- The Board has decided to reinstate its capital allocation
policy and proposes a final dividend of 5.0 pence per share (2020:
no final dividend declared), which is also the total dividend for
the full year (2020: 2.4 pence per share). Our capital policy
remains broadly unchanged: to continue to invest in the business
enabling it to grow while paying around one third of net income to
shareholders in the form of dividends. We aim to return the
remaining surplus cash to shareholders through share buy backs,
which will recommence shortly.
Operational results
- Cross platform visits(4,5) up 15% to 58.3 million per month on average (2020: 50.8 million).
- Cross platform minutes(4,5) up 14% to 561.1 million per month
on average (2020: 492.5 million). Our share of cross platform
minutes(4,6) remains over 75% (2020: over 75%), 7x larger than our
nearest competitor.
- The average number of retailer forecourts(4) in the period was
broadly flat at 13,336 (2020: 13,345).
- Average Revenue Per Retailer(4) (ARPR) per month was down
GBP625 to GBP1,324 (2020: GBP1,949). Discounts offered relating to
COVID-19 had a negative impact of GBP712 on ARPR in the period,
implying an underlying increase of GBP87 per month.
- Average physical car stock(4,7) on site up 1% to 485,000 cars
(2020: 478,000), of which new cars contributed 47,000 (2020:
31,000).
- Average number of employees and contractors (FTEs)(4)
increased to 909 (2020: 853) mostly due to the acquisition of
KeeResources (October 2019) and AutoConvert (July 2020).
Introducing our Cultural KPIs
We have formed a new Board committee with oversight of Auto
Trader's corporate responsibility, to support our increasing focus
on the environmental, social and governance aspects of our business
. This includes monitoring a new set of cultural KPIs, which sit
alongside our existing financial and operational measures,
demonstrating their importance to us and our people:
- 93% of employees are proud to work at Auto Trader (8) (2020:
89%), due to both the support we've provided, and as a result of
having maintained clear and open communication with our people
throughout the last 12 months.
- We believe diverse teams and an inclusive culture is critical
to attracting, identifying and maximising the potential of our
people and therefore our business. We are seeking to make progress
across all of these areas in the years ahead and have linked them
to remuneration targets:
o Board: The percentage of the board who identify as women is
50% (March 2020: 50%). We do not currently have a board member from
an ethnic minority, but have an active search underway and are
committed to meeting the Parker Review recommendation.
o Leadership: The percentage of leaders (9) who identify as
women is 34% (March 2020: 32%), and those who are BAME (10) is 6%
(March 2020: 4%).
o Organisation: The percentage of employees who identify as
women is 39% (11) (March 2020: 39%), and those who are BAME (10,11)
is 11% (March 2020: 10%).
- We have signed up to the 1.5C Science Based Targets initiative
and we will be developing a carbon reduction plan to set out our
move towards a net zero carbon position. The total amount of CO(2)
emissions reduced in the year by 34% to 6,673 tonnes of carbon
dioxide equivalent (12) , although this has been heavily impacted
by low levels of business travel and home working due to
COVID-19.
Nathan Coe, Chief Executive Officer of Auto Trader Group plc,
said:
"We decided early on to proactively support our people, car
buyers and our customers, many of whom run small family-owned
businesses. These actions have positioned us for a strong start to
this next financial year.
"There has been a dramatic shift towards buying online which
means we now have more buyers than ever turning to Auto Trader to
help with their next car purchase, making us even more relevant to
retailers and manufacturers. This positions us ideally to enable
the buying and selling of cars online, which will materially
improve the car buying experience and the business of our
customers.
"I want to thank everyone who has trusted and relied on us,
particularly my Auto Trader colleagues who have shown unwavering
commitment under the toughest of circumstances. Together our
collective efforts have built the strongest of foundations to
support the industry in transitioning to true multi-channel
retailing underpinned by technology"
Outlook
Auto Trader has started the new financial year in a strong
position as a result of the actions taken in the last year. This is
reflected in our recent trading performance, a strong pipeline of
product innovations and improved relationships with customers. In
the longer term, we will be beneficiaries of the major changes
underway in the car retailing market, where more of the buying
journey is moving online.
Despite unusually strong demand and tight supply, COVID-19 is
currently having little impact on the financial performance of the
business as we start Financial Year 2022. However, as seen in other
countries, we cannot yet be sure that COVID-19 will not reappear as
a significant negative factor in our future performance. The
following remarks assume no significant restrictions on our
retailers' ability to trade going forward.
In the year ahead, we expect to deliver high single digit growth
on FY20 ARPR and Operating profit margins that are in line with
FY20 levels, with FY20 being the year ended March 2020.
As we started the year, we successfully executed our annual
pricing event in April 2021 including the launch of Retailer
Stores, which offers customers their own dedicated, customisable
location on Auto Trader. Retailer numbers for the year are likely
to be in line with FY20 levels and stock is still expected to be a
small headwind. Consumer Services and Manufacturer & Agency
revenue, which make up 14% of Group revenue, will recover from FY21
lows, but are unlikely to reach FY20 levels, as sellers favour
part-exchange and new car advertising is impacted by semiconductor
supply issues.
The Board is confident for the future prospects of the
business.
Analyst presentation
A presentation for analysts will be held via audio webcast and
conference call at 9.30am, Thursday 10 June 2021. Details
below.
Audio webcast: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/yzx2umhy
Conference call details :
Location Purpose Phone Type Number
United Kingdom, London Participant Local +44 (0) 2071 928338
============ ===================== ===================
United Kingdom Participant Tollfree / Freephone 08002796619
============ ===================== ===================
United States, New York Participant Local 16467413167
============ ===================== ===================
United States Participant Tollfree / Freephone 18778709135
============ ===================== ===================
Passcode: 8480289
Please note: Questions will only be taken from the conference
call. Participants on the conference call who also plan on
following the slides via the webcast should switch the webcast to
Phone mode using the cogwheel icon located on the bottom right
corner of the webcast screen to ensure the slides are synced to the
phone audio rather than the webcast audio.
If you have any trouble registering or accessing either the
conference call or webcast, please contact Powerscourt on the
details below.
For media enquiries
Please contact the team at Powerscourt on +44 (0)20 7250 1446 or
email autotrader@powerscourt-group.com
About Auto Trader
Auto Trader Group plc is the UK and Ireland's largest digital
automotive marketplace. Our marketplace sits at the heart of the
vehicle buying process, with the largest number of car buyers and
the largest choice of trusted stock. Auto Trader exists to grow
both its car buying audience and core advertising business. It will
change how the UK shops for cars by providing the best online car
buying experience, enabling all retailers to sell online. We aim to
build stronger partnerships with our customers, use our voice and
influence to drive more environmentally friendly vehicle choices
and create an inclusive and diverse culture. Auto Trader listed on
the London Stock Exchange in March 2015 and is now a member of the
FTSE 100 Index.
For more information, please visit
http://about-us.autotrader.co.uk
Cautionary statement
This announcement of annual results does not constitute or form
part of and should not be construed as an invitation to underwrite,
subscribe for, or otherwise acquire or dispose of any Auto Trader
Group plc (the "Company") shares or other securities in any
jurisdiction nor is it an inducement to enter into investment
activity nor should it form the basis of, or be relied on in
connection with, any contract or commitment or investment decision
whatsoever. It does not constitute a recommendation regarding any
securities. Past performance, including the price at which the
Company's securities have been bought or sold in the past, is no
guide to future performance and persons needing advice should
consult an independent financial advisor. Certain statements in
this announcement constitute forward looking statements (including
beliefs or opinions). Any statement in this announcement that is
not a statement of historical fact including, without limitation,
those regarding the Company's future expectations, operations,
financial performance, financial condition and business is a
forward looking statement. Such forward looking statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties, because they relate to events
that may or may not occur in the future, that may cause actual
results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by
such forward looking statements. These risks and uncertainties
include, among other factors, changing economic, financial,
business or other market conditions. These and other factors could
adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and
events described in this results announcement. As a result you are
cautioned not to place reliance on such forward looking statements,
which are not guarantees of future performance. Except as is
required by applicable laws and regulatory obligations, no
undertaking is given to update the forward looking statements
contained in this announcement, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. Nothing in this
announcement should be construed as a profit forecast. This
announcement has been prepared for the Company's group as a whole
and, therefore, gives greater emphasis to those matters which are
significant to the Company and its subsidiary undertakings when
viewed as a whole.
Summary financial performance
Units 2021 2020 Change
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
Income statement
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
Trade GBPm 225.2 324.3 (31%)
Consumer services GBPm 26.6 28.3 (6%)
Manufacturer & Agency GBPm 11.0 16.3 (33%)
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
Revenue GBPm 262.8 368.9 (29%)
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
Operating profit GBPm 161.2 258.9 (38%)
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
Operating profit margin % 61% 70% (9% pts)
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
Profit before tax GBPm 157.4 251.5 (37%)
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
Basic earnings per share Pence 13.24 22.19 (40%)
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
Dividend per share Pence 5.0 2.4 108%
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
Cash flow
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
Cash generated from operations(1) GBPm 152.9 265.5 (42%)
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
Net bank debt/(cash)(2) GBPm (15.7) 275.4
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
Leverage(3) at March Times 0.0x 1.0x
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
Selected key performance
indicators
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
Average Revenue Per Retailer GBP per
forecourt(4) month 1,324 1,949 (32%)
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
Physical car stock on site(4,8) Number 485,000 478,000 1%
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
Number of retailer forecourts(4) Number 13,336 13,345 (0%)
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
million
Cross platform visits(,4,5) per month 58.3 50.8 15%
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
million
Cross platform minutes(4,5) per month 561.1 492.5 14%
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
Full-time equivalent employees
and contractors(4) (FTEs) Number 909 853 7%
----------------------------------- ------------ -------- -------- ---------
1. Cash generated from operations is defined as net cash
generated from operating activities, before corporation tax
paid.
2. Net bank debt is Net debt before amortised debt fees and
excluding accrued interest and amounts owed under lease
arrangements.
3. Leverage is Net bank debt as a multiple of EBITDA (earnings
before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation,
share-based payments and associated NI, exceptional items which
includes profit on disposal of subsidiaries and the share of profit
from joint ventures).
4. Average during the year.
5. Measured by Google analytics.
6. Share of minutes is a custom metric based on Comscore minutes
and is calculated by dividing Auto Trader's total minutes volume by
the entire custom-defined competitive set's total minutes volume.
The custom-defined list includes: Auto Trader, Gumtree motors,
Pistonheads, Motors.co.uk & CarGurus.
7. Physical car stock advertised on autotrader.co.uk.
8. Based on a survey to all Auto Trader employees in January
2021 asking our people to rate the statement "I am proud to work
for Auto Trader?". Answers are given on a five-point scale from
strongly disagree to strongly agree.
9. We define leaders as those who are on our Operational
Leadership Team ('OLT') and those direct reports of the OLT.
10. Throughout 2021 we have asked our employees to voluntarily
disclose their ethnicity, at year end we had 201 employees (21%)
who had not yet disclosed.
11. We calculate all our diversity percentages using total group
headcount (March 2021: 953, March 2020: 904) as at 31(st)
March.
12. The total amount of CO(2) emissions includes Scope 1, 2 and
3. Prior year figures have been restated to include emissions from
additional relevant Scope 3 categories. From the 15 different
emission categories that fall within Scope 3, the following have
been identified as relevant to Auto Trader: Purchased goods and
services (an Environmentally Extended Input Output (EEIO) database
methodology was used to calculate the GHG footprint across total
spend for the financial year); Capital goods; Fuel and energy
related activities (not included in Scope 1 and Scope 2); Waste
generated in operations; Business travel; Employee commuting and
Investments.
Summary of FY21 operating performance
COVID-19 has had a significant impact over the last year. To
support our customers through the various periods of national
lockdown, we offered four months of free advertising and one month
with a 25% discount. This was the primary contributing factor to
our revenue decline of 29% to GBP262.8m which, due to our high
operating leverage, resulted in an Operating profit decline of 38%
to GBP161.2m. Despite this we feel confident in our strengthened
audience position, our strong volumes of both stock and retailers
at year end, and our opportunity to bring more of the car buying
journey online.
Our audience performance has strengthened over the year with
average monthly cross platform visits increasing by 15% to 58.3
million per month (2020: 50.8 million). Engagement, which we
measure by total minutes spent on site, increased by 14% to an
average of 561 million minutes per month (2020: 492 million
minutes). We have retained our position as the UK's largest and
most engaged automotive marketplace for new and used cars, with
over 75% of all minutes spent on automotive classified sites spent
on Auto Trader (2020: over 75%).
The average number of retailer forecourts advertising on our
platforms was broadly flat at 13,336 (2020: 13,345). We have seen a
steady increase in the number of retailers advertising on our
platform since June and saw a year-on-year increase in the second
half of the year.
Total live stock on site increased by 1% to an average of
485,000 cars (2020: 478,000). We saw significant downward pressure
on stock listings through the summer created by supply constraints.
However, this improved from September and as with our retailer
forecourt number, saw good levels of year-on-year growth in the
second half. New car stock has seen consistent growth, averaging
47,000 in the year (2020: 31,000).
Executing on our strategy
We strive to be the best place to find, buy and sell a car in
the UK on a platform that enables data-driven digital retailing for
our customers. We continue to think about our strategy in terms of
three commercial growth horizons: core; adjacent; and future, which
sits alongside our make a difference strategy. We have made good
progress across all areas through the year.
In April 2020, we successfully executed our annual pricing event
which included an upgraded Performance Dashboard, our entry level
pricing tool Retail Check and a new Market Insight tool. These
tools give retailers access to up-to-date market intelligence so
they can identify key market trends, understand how they impact
performance, and inform business decisions. Embedding our data into
the industry has long been a focus area, and with the recent
acquisition of KeeResources and increased levels of online selling,
there remains significant future opportunity.
We have increased the penetration of our higher yielding
advanced and premium packages to 26% of retailer stock in March
2021 (March 2020: 23%). Much of the increase was driven by offer
periods, where advertising was free in December and February, and
retailers took advantage of lower advertising costs to gain
additional exposure for their stock in search results, putting them
in the best position to be found first more often.
Following year end, we have evolved our advertising package
structure and changed the sort order for listings. Where our
packages previously promoted adverts based on the device a consumer
was searching on, we have created a consistent cross platform
experience with adverts appearing in search based on a relevancy
algorithm, which takes package level into account. As part of this
change, we have discontinued our Basic package, introduced a higher
level and re-branded our top three levels Enhanced, Super and
Ultra. Towards the end of the year, we also launched a new product,
Market Extension, that allows customers to sell vehicles outside
their local area. This product works for both centrally held
vehicles and vehicles on physical forecourts where the retailer is
prepared to either deliver to the buyer or move the vehicle to a
closer location. Recently we have seen an increase in the average
distance car buyers are willing to consider purchasing their next
vehicle, making Market Extension a key product for the increasing
number of retailers looking to sell online.
Another area of focus has been our new car proposition. We ended
the year with over 2,000 retailers (2020: over 1,000) paying to
advertise new cars on our site, an increase of 100%. The average
number of new cars advertised on our platforms over the year
increased to 47,000 (2020: 31,000), attracting 1.4m unique visitors
on average each month across the period.
We have made substantial progress during the year in migrating
our platform and technology infrastructure to the cloud. Moving to
the cloud has enabled us to take advantage of improved performance,
enhanced security and a quicker product release cycle. We expect to
have migrated all of our services to the cloud by the end of the
coming financial year. Despite the disrupted nature of this year,
we saw an increase in the number of product releases to 41,000
(2020: 37,000).
As part of our strategy to bring more of the car buying journey
online, in October we began enrolling customers onto our Guaranteed
Part-Exchange ('GPX') product. This product enables consumers to
get an accurate price for their existing vehicle whilst shopping on
Auto Trader, eliminating the need to haggle over a part-exchange
whilst also not requiring the dealer to take risk on the vehicle.
At year end we had c.1,000 customers trialling the product.
In July 2020, we acquired AutoConvert, a finance, insurance and
compliance software platform with integrated customer relationship
management. The business helps its customers to both increase
finance penetration and to reduce costs by automating the customer
journey. AutoConvert's customers include automotive dealers, dealer
networks and financial brokers. The business's core functionality,
coupled with the fact it is integrated into over 60 lenders, will
help us deliver our future finance product, which will enable
finance agreements and approvals to be completed on Auto Trader. We
expect to pilot this in the second half of the current financial
year.
Finally, our product teams made good progress on a solution that
will enable vehicle reservations to be completed on Auto Trader. We
expect this product to evolve over the next 6-12 months and form a
key component of facilitating an online transaction. We anticipate
that consumers' willingness to complete this part of the
transaction online has been improved by changing habits brought
about by COVID-19 and believe it can significantly increase the
efficiency of our customers.
Our research of car buyers tells us that 55% of buyers would
consider buying a used car online, 60% would pay an online deposit,
80% want to have at least some idea of the part-exchange value and
70% want an idea of finance options before visiting a retailer. It
is anticipated that over the next 12 months, we will evolve the car
buying journey on Auto Trader to include all three components, in
one easy to complete user journey.
The UK car market
As a result of national and local lockdowns during the pandemic,
retailers have had to shut showrooms for parts of the year. This,
inevitably, had an immediate impact on their ability to sell
vehicles.
Both new and used car transactions declined most significantly
during the first lockdown in April and May 2020. During the
subsequent lockdowns the decline in car transactions was less
severe as retailers adapted, bringing more of their forecourt
experience online, adopting a 'click and collect' or home delivery
model. Demand for vehicles has been strong following periods of
lockdown as consumers place an even higher value on having
exclusive use of a vehicle. Good levels of demand combined with
periods of constrained supply have led to 12 consecutive months of
price growth for used cars up to year end. Supply is expected to
remain somewhat constrained in the months ahead, particularly due
to the shortage of semiconductors which is limiting new car
production.
The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 and to date we have not
seen a meaningful impact. The final Trade and Cooperation Agreement
between the UK and the EU removed significant levels of
uncertainty, as vehicles will be able to be freely traded without
tariffs applying (although with an increased administrative
burden).
People and culture
The financial year started with the UK in lockdown and with all
of our people working from home. With our business continuity
planning in place, our transition to working remotely was almost
seamless, which is testament to our systems, technology and the
resilience of our employees. We increased the level of support for
our people and have sustained this throughout the last 12 months.
Many of these initiatives will remain, such as increased employee
support services for mental and physical health, and more regular
all-Company communication. We have also taken the decision to adapt
our working policies to reflect the changing way we will all work
going forwards. We will enable our people to better balance their
work and home life to retain some of the benefits we have seen from
a very different way of working. Encouragingly, when asked, 93% of
employees say they are proud to work at Auto Trader which has risen
from 89% in 2020 despite the challenges faced over the last 12
months.
At the start of the crisis we furloughed around 25% of our
employees, as retailers essentially closed their businesses.
Towards the end of May and as soon as it seemed likely that the
business could survive even the worst scenarios, all of our people
placed on furlough returned to work and in September we voluntarily
repaid all amounts to the Government claimed under the furlough
scheme. Our Executive Directors also forewent 50% of their salary
during Q1 and agreed to forego annual bonuses earned in relation to
the previous financial year. The remainder of the Board waived
their fees by 50% or more for the duration of Q1.
We remain committed to improving diversity and inclusion within
our organisation as we believe this improves individual and team
performance and allows us to identify and attract talent that we
may not otherwise access. Like most organisations, particularly
those in both the technology and automotive sector, there is
significant room for improvement. Our gender diversity at Board
level remained at 50:50 (2020: 50:50), although women were less
well represented in the organisation as a whole at 39% (March 2020:
39%) and in leadership roles, as defined by Hampton-Alexander, at
34% (March 2020: 32%). We are pleased to be one of only nine
FTSE100 companies to have at least a 50:50 gender parity on the
Board. From an ethnicity perspective, we have not yet met the
Parker Review recommendation of having a member of our Board from a
BAME background but are committed to doing so. We also aim to
increase the percentage of BAME employees: we are currently at 11%
(2020: 10%), with 21% of employees currently not disclosed. The
percentage of BAME employees in a leadership role, again using the
Hampton-Alexander definition, is currently at 6% (2020: 4%).
To increase our representation across all levels of the
organisation, we aim to stimulate the flow of diverse talent from
early careers through to senior leadership by both targeted
development programmes and equipping our leaders to get the very
best out of everyone on their team and support their development
through the organisation. We have launched a number of learning and
development programmes, including: Inclusive Leadership ('IL') and
Diverse Talent Accelerator ('DTA'), as well as a programme of
continuous leadership development.
Much of this work is supported and informed by our many employee
networks and guilds representing: women, BAME, LGBT+, disability
& neurodiversity and age.
The Board
During the year, we created a new Corporate Responsibility
Committee, which is a Board Committee, to support our increasing
focus on the environmental, social and governance aspects of our
business. This new committee is tasked with assisting the Board in
fulfilling its oversight responsibilities in respect of corporate
responsibility and sustainability for the Company and the
Group.
The Financial Review
2021 2020 Change
GBPm GBPm %
------------------------- ------ ------ ----------------
Retailer 211.9 312.1 (32%)
Home Trader 6.3 8.3 (24%)
Other 7.0 3.9 79%
------------------------- ------ ------ ----------------
Trade 225.2 324.3 (31%)
Consumer Services 26.6 28.3 (6%)
Manufacturer and Agency 11.0 16.3 (33%)
------------------------- ------ ------ ----------------
Total 262.8 368.9 (29%)
------------------------- ------ ------ ----------------
Revenue fell to GBP262.8m (2020: GBP368.9m), down 29% when
compared to the prior year. Trade revenue, which comprises revenue
from Retailers, Home Traders and other smaller revenue streams,
decreased by 31% to GBP225.2m (2020: GBP324.3m).
Retailer revenue fell by 32% to GBP211.9m (2020: GBP312.1m).
Revenue was impacted by our decision to provide free advertising to
our retailer customers in April, May, December and February, and at
a 25% discount in June, due to the closure of their forecourts
given COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.
The average number of retailer forecourts advertising on our
platforms was broadly flat at 13,336 (2020: 13,345). We had a
reasonable decline in the first quarter, but subsequently saw a
steady increase in the number of retailers advertising on our
platform since June 2020.
Average Revenue per Retailer ('ARPR') declined by 32% to
GBP1,324 (2020: GBP1,949). The GBP625 decrease was heavily impacted
by the COVID-19 related discounts previously mentioned. Excluding
those discounts, ARPR grew by GBP87 year-on-year, as a decline in
paid stock was offset by an increase in price and product:
-- COVID-related discounts: The impact of discounts provided to
support customers during the various lockdown periods contributed a
decline of GBP712 to total ARPR (2020: GBP0).
-- Price: Our price lever contributed an increase of GBP50
(2020: GBP53) to total ARPR as we executed our annual pricing event
for all customers on 1 April 2020, which included additional
products but also a like-for-like price increase.
-- Stock: The number of cars advertised on Auto Trader increased
by 1% to 485,000 (2020: 478,000), this was boosted by the growth in
new cars seen on Auto Trader due to growing take up on our new car
product. Used car stock marginally declined in the year as we saw
stock levels reduce through the second quarter, with the overall
number of cars available to retail decreasing as a result of high
demand and tightened supply. Stock levels recovered through the
second half, although not enough to offset the decline. The
year-on-year decline in the number of used cars live on site
contributed to the decline in the levels of paid retailer stock
resulting in a GBP52 decline in the stock lever (2020: decline of
GBP30).
-- Product: Our product lever contributed an increase of GBP89
(2020: GBP82) to total ARPR. Much of this product growth was a
result of our annual pricing event underpinned by three products:
an upgraded Performance Dashboard, Retail Check and a new Market
Insight tool. There was also growth in our new car advertising
product with over 2,000 paying retailers at the end of March 2021
(March 2020: over 1,000). The penetration of our higher yielding
advanced and premium packages also increased to 26% of retailer
stock (March 2020: 23%), as retailers continue to recognise the
value of receiving greater prominence within our search listings
and took advantage of the free advertising offered in December and
February. We also saw a small contribution from our new Market
Extension product.
Home Trader revenue declined by 24% to GBP6.3m (2020: GBP8.3m).
Other revenue increased by GBP3.1m to GBP7.0m (2020: GBP3.9m)
mainly through the acquisition of KeeResources and AutoConvert
which contributed GBP3.7m (2020: GBP1.9m) and GBP1.1m (2020:
GBP0.0m) to this revenue line respectively.
Consumer services revenue decreased by 6% in the period to
GBP26.6m (2020: GBP28.3m). Private revenue, which is generated from
individual sellers who pay to advertise their vehicle on the Auto
Trader marketplace, decreased to GBP16.6m (2020: GBP20.1m). This
was offset by an increase in Motoring Services revenue, which was
up 21% to GBP9.9m (2020: GBP8.2m) as a result of strong growth in
both our insurance and finance offerings. We also launched our new
instant offer product in the year, which enables private sellers to
sell their car at a guaranteed price, which contributed GBP0.1m to
Private revenue.
Revenue from Manufacturer and Agency customers declined by 33%
to GBP11.0m (2020: GBP16.3m). In addition to the impact of the
pandemic, we also removed standard format display advertising to
improve the core search experience. This removal contributed
GBP3.9m to the overall reduction in Manufacturer and Agency
revenue.
Costs
The Group made the decision to reduce costs, mainly through the
reduction of discretionary marketing spend, which led to total
costs decreasing by 8% to GBP104.0m (2020: GBP113.2m).
2021 2020 Change
GBPm GBPm %
------------------------------- ------- ------- ---------
People costs 60.0 55.8 8%
Marketing 9.8 17.3 (43%)
Other costs 27.9 33.6 (17%)
Depreciation & amortisation 6.3 6.5 (3%)
Total administrative expenses 104.0 113.2 (8%)
------------------------------- ------- ------- ---------
People costs, which comprise all staff costs and third-party
contractor costs, increased by 8% to GBP60.0m (2020: GBP55.8m). The
increase in people costs was primarily driven by an increase in the
average number of full-time equivalent employees (including
contractors) to 909 (2020: 853), much of which was down to the
acquisition of KeeResources and AutoConvert which contributed a
combined 49 to the increase in the period.
Marketing spend decreased by 43% to GBP9.8m (2020: GBP17.3m) as
discretionary spend was reduced in response to the pandemic.
Other costs, which include data services, property related costs
and other overheads, decreased by 17% to GBP27.9m (2020: GBP33.6m).
The decrease was primarily due to lower overhead costs including
lower travel and office related costs. Depreciation and
amortisation declined to GBP6.3m (2020: GBP6.5m) with the reduction
coming from reduced software amortisation.
Operating profit
2021 2020 Change
GBPm GBPm %
-------------------------------------- -------- -------- ---------
Revenue 262.8 368.9 (29%)
Administrative expenses (104.0) (113.2) (8%)
Share of profits from joint ventures 2.4 3.2 (25%)
Operating profit 161.2 258.9 (38%)
-------------------------------------- -------- -------- ---------
During the period Operating profit fell by 38% to GBP161.2m
(2020: GBP258.9m). Operating profit margin decreased by nine
percentage points to 61% (2020: 70%).
Our share of profit generated by Dealer Auction, the Group's
joint venture, decreased to GBP2.4m (2020: GBP3.2m) in the period
as a result of reduced auction activity during the periods of
lockdown.
Profit before taxation
Profit before taxation decreased by 37% to GBP157.4m (2020:
GBP251.5m). This decrease results from the Operating profit
performance, partially offset by a reduction in net finance costs
of GBP3.8m (2020: GBP7.4m).
Interest costs on the Group's RCF totalled GBP2.9m (2020:
GBP6.3m). The decrease reflects a reduced average drawn level
through the period. At 31 March 2021 the Group had drawn GBP30.0m
of the facility (31 March 2020: GBP313.0m). Amortisation of debt
costs amounted to GBP0.6m (2020: GBP0.7m). Interest costs relating
to leases totalled GBP0.3m (2020: GBP0.4m) and interest charged on
deferred consideration was GBP0.1m (2020: GBPnil). This was offset
by interest receivable on cash and cash equivalents of GBP0.1m
(2020: GBPnil).
Taxation
The Group tax charge of GBP29.6m (2020: GBP46.4m) represents an
effective tax rate of 19% (2020: 18%). After removing the impact of
Dealer Auction, which is consolidated post-tax, this is in line
with the average standard UK rate.
Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share fell by 40% to 13.24 pence (2020: 22.19
pence) based on a weighted average number of ordinary shares in
issue of 965,175,677 (2020: 924,499,320). Diluted earnings per
share of 13.21 pence (2020: 22.08 pence) decreased by 40%, based on
967,404,812 shares (2020: 929,247,835) which takes into account the
dilutive impact of outstanding share awards. The increase in the
number of shares was due to the equity raise completed on 1 April
2020, which issued approximately 46 million shares.
Cash flow and net debt
Cash generated from operations decreased to GBP152.9m (2020:
GBP265.5m) as a result of the reduction in Operating profit.
Corporation tax payments decreased to GBP28.2m (2020: GBP69.8m),
due to lower profit before taxation and due to the last financial
year including two additional payments as a result of the changes
to HMRC's payment profile. Net cash generated from operating
activities was GBP124.7m (2020: GBP195.7m).
As at 31 March 2021 the Group had net cash of GBP10.3m (31 March
2020: net debt of GBP282.4m), representing a net reduction of
GBP292.7m. Net bank debt, which is Net debt before amortised debt
fees and excluding accrued interest and amounts owed under lease
arrangements, is in a net cash position of GBP15.7m (2020: net bank
debt of GBP275.4m). At the year end, the Group had drawn GBP30.0m
of the Syndicated revolving credit facility (31 March 2020:
GBP313.0m) and held cash and cash equivalents of GBP45.7m (2020:
GBP37.6m).
Leverage, defined as the ratio of Net bank debt to EBITDA,
decreased to zero (2020: 1.0x) as we exit the year in a net cash
position. Interest paid on these financing arrangements was GBP3.0m
(2020: GBP6.4m).
Equity placing
On 1 April 2020 the Company announced its intention to conduct a
non-pre-emptive placing of up to 5% of its issued share capital. On
3 April 2020 the placing was completed, and a total of 46,468,300
new ordinary shares were allotted for a consideration of 400.00
pence per Placing Share, a discount of 8.9% to the closing share
price of 439.1 pence on 31 March 2020. The placing raised gross
proceeds of GBP185.9m for the Company, or GBP182.9m net of all fees
incurred.
Capital structure and dividends
In March 2020 the Group suspended its capital allocation policy
to safeguard the business in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Despite the challenging trading conditions, the Group has remained
cash generative and the Board believe now is the right time to
reinstate its capital allocation policy. The Group's capital
allocation policy remains broadly unchanged: continuing to invest
in the business enabling it to grow whilst returning around one
third of net income to shareholders in the form of dividends.
Having reduced our debt position, any surplus cash following these
activities will be used to continue our share buyback programme.
The Board is therefore recommending a final dividend for the year
of 5.0p (2020: nil) and expects to resume its share buyback
programme shortly. Subject to shareholders' approval at the Annual
General Meeting ('AGM') on 17 September 2021, the final dividend
will be paid on 24 September 2021 to shareholders on the register
of members at the close of business on 27 August 2021.
No interim dividend was paid, and therefore total dividends for
the year are 5.0p (2020: 2.4p). Total dividends paid during the
financial year were nil (2020: GBP64.7m). No shares were
repurchased during the financial year (2020: 11.4 million were
repurchased for a total consideration of GBP61.7m).
At the 2020 AGM, the Company's shareholders generally authorised
the Company to make market purchases of up to 96,560,474 of its
ordinary shares, subject to minimum and maximum price restrictions.
This authority will expire at the conclusion of the 2021 AGM and
the Directors intend to seek a similar general authority from
shareholders at the 2021 AGM. The Board intends to commence the
share buyback programme shortly, and any purchases of its shares
made by the Company under the programme will be effected in
accordance with the Company's general authority to repurchase
shares, Chapter 12 of the UKLA Listing Rules and relevant
conditions for trading restrictions regarding time and volume,
disclosure and reporting obligations and price conditions.
Acquisition of AutoConvert
On 31 July 2020, the Group acquired AutoConvert (legally named
BlueOwl Network Limited) for the consideration of GBP18.2m, of
which GBP8.1m will be deferred until 31 July 2022. AutoConvert is a
finance, insurance and compliance software platform with integrated
customer relationship management systems for the automotive
sector.
In the eight months post acquisition, AutoConvert contributed
GBP1.7m of revenue and GBP2.0m of costs (excluding amortisation of
acquired intangible assets) to the consolidated results of the
Group.
Going concern
The Group generated significant cash from operations during the
period, despite the impact of COVID-19 on Q1 trading. At 31 March
2021 the Group had drawn GBP30m of its GBP400m unsecured revolving
credit facility ('RCF') and had cash balances of GBP46m. The
GBP400m RCF is committed until June 2023, when it reduces to
GBP317m through to maturity in June 2025.
In making their assessment of going concern, the Directors
reviewed financial projections for a period of 12 months from the
date of this report. Stress case scenarios were modelled to take
into account severe but plausible impacts of COVID-19. The results
of stress testing demonstrated that the combination of significant
free cash flow, existing cash resources and the discretionary
nature of dividend payments and share buybacks were sufficient for
the Group to withstand such impacts and continue to comply with the
RCF's financial covenants with significant headroom. For these
reasons, the Directors continue to adopt the going concern basis in
preparing these financial statements.
Post balance sheet events
On 14 April 2021, the Group entered into a new lease arrangement
to rent an additional 16,000 square feet in our Manchester office
to support the needs of our growing workforce. The lease will last
for five years until April 2026 with total lease commitments over
the five-year period of GBP1.9m.
The Group's joint venture, Dealer Auction Limited, declared a
dividend of GBP10.0m on 29 April 2021. The Group owns 49% of the
ordinary share capital of Dealer Auction Limited and therefore
received payment of GBP4.9m on 14 May 2021.
Consolidated income statement
For the year ended 31 March 2021
2021 2020
Note GBPm GBPm
--------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Revenue 3 262.8 368.9
Administrative expenses (104.0) (113.2)
Share of profit from joint ventures 11 2.4 3.2
--------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Operating profit 4 161.2 258.9
Net finance costs 5 (3.8) (7.4)
--------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Profit before taxation 157.4 251.5
Taxation 6 (29.6) (46.4)
--------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Profit for the year attributable to equity holders
of the parent 127.8 205.1
--------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Basic earnings per share (pence) 7 13.24 22.19
--------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Diluted earnings per share (pence) 7 13.21 22.08
--------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
For the year ended 31 March 2021
2021 2020
GBPm GBPm
------------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Profit for the year 127.8 205.1
Other comprehensive income
Items that may be subsequently reclassified
to profit or loss
Exchange differences on translation of foreign
operations (0.2) (0.3)
-------------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Items that will not be reclassified to profit
or loss
Remeasurements of post-employment benefit obligations,
net of tax 1.6 0.6
-------------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Other comprehensive income for the year, net
of tax 1.4 0.3
-------------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Total comprehensive income for the year attributable
to equity holders of the parent 129.2 205.4
-------------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Consolidated balance sheet
At 31 March 2021
2021 2020
Note GBPm GBPm
--------------------------------------------- ---- --------- ---------
Assets
Non-current assets
Intangible assets 8 358.2 341.9
Property, plant and equipment 9 11.2 13.1
Deferred taxation assets 1.7 6.8
Retirement benefit surplus 3.2 0.9
Net investments in joint ventures 11 54.6 52.2
--------------------------------------------- ---- --------- ---------
428.9 414.9
Current assets
Trade and other receivables 59.6 56.0
Current income tax assets 0.3 0.4
Cash and cash equivalents 45.7 37.6
--------------------------------------------- ---- --------- ---------
105.6 94.0
--------------------------------------------- ---- --------- ---------
Total assets 534.5 508.9
--------------------------------------------- ---- --------- ---------
Equity and liabilities
Equity attributable to equity holders of the
parent
Share capital 13 9.7 9.2
Share premium 13 182.4 -
Retained earnings 1,307.3 1,180.1
Own shares held 14 (10.7) (17.9)
Capital reorganisation reserve (1,060.8) (1,060.8)
Capital redemption reserve 0.8 0.8
Other reserves 30.0 30.2
--------------------------------------------- ---- --------- ---------
Total equity 458.7 141.6
--------------------------------------------- ---- --------- ---------
Liabilities
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings 12 27.6 310.5
Deferred taxation liabilities - 2.9
Provisions for other liabilities and charges 1.1 1.1
Lease liabilities 5.0 7.0
Deferred income 9.4 10.0
Deferred consideration 7.9 -
--------------------------------------------- ---- --------- ---------
51.0 331.5
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 21.8 33.3
Provisions for other liabilities and charges 0.5 0.4
Lease liabilities 2.5 2.1
--------------------------------------------- ---- --------- ---------
24.8 35.8
--------------------------------------------- ---- --------- ---------
Total liabilities 75.8 367.3
--------------------------------------------- ---- --------- ---------
Total equity and liabilities 534.5 508.9
--------------------------------------------- ---- --------- ---------
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors
on 10 June 2021 and authorised for issue:
Jamie Warner
Chief Financial Officer
Auto Trader Group plc
Registered number: 09439967
Consolidated statement of changes in equity
For the year ended 31 March 2021
Capital Capital
Share Share Retained Own shares reorganisation redemption Other Total
capital premium earnings held reserve reserve reserves equity
Note GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
------------------- ---- -------- -------- --------- ---------- --------------- ----------- --------- -------
Balance at 31 March
2019 9.3 - 1,095.8 (16.5) (1,060.8) 0.7 30.5 59.0
------------------- ---- -------- -------- --------- ---------- --------------- ----------- --------- -------
Profit for the year - - 205.1 - - - - 205.1
------------------- ---- -------- -------- --------- ---------- --------------- ----------- --------- -------
Other comprehensive
income:
Currency
translation
differences - - - - - - (0.3) (0.3)
Remeasurements of
post-employment
benefit
obligations,
net of tax - - 0.6 - - - - 0.6
------------------- ---- -------- -------- --------- ---------- --------------- ----------- --------- -------
Total comprehensive
income, net of tax - - 205.7 - - - (0.3) 205.4
------------------- ---- -------- -------- --------- ---------- --------------- ----------- --------- -------
Transactions with
owners
Employee share
schemes
- value of
employee
services - - 3.4 - - - - 3.4
Exercise of
employee
share schemes - - (2.7) 2.8 - - - 0.1
Transfer of shares
from ESOT - - (0.1) 0.1 - - - -
Tax impact of
employee
share schemes - - 0.4 - - - - 0.4
Cancellation of
shares (0.1) - (57.7) - - 0.1 - (57.7)
Acquisition of
treasury
shares - - - (4.3) - - - (4.3)
Dividends paid - - (64.7) - - - - (64.7)
------------------- ---- -------- -------- --------- ---------- --------------- ----------- --------- -------
Total transactions
with owners,
recognised
directly in equity (0.1) - (121.4) (1.4) - 0.1 - (122.8)
------------------- ---- -------- -------- --------- ---------- --------------- ----------- --------- -------
Balance at 31 March
2020 9.2 - 1,180.1 (17.9) (1,060.8) 0.8 30.2 141.6
------------------- ---- -------- -------- --------- ---------- --------------- ----------- --------- -------
Profit for the year - - 127.8 - - - - 127.8
------------------- ---- -------- -------- --------- ---------- --------------- ----------- --------- -------
Other comprehensive
income:
Currency
translation
differences - - - - - - (0.2) (0.2)
Remeasurements of
post-employment
benefit
obligations,
net of tax - - 1.6 - - - - 1.6
------------------- ---- -------- -------- --------- ---------- --------------- ----------- --------- -------
Total comprehensive
income, net of tax - - 129.4 - - - (0.2) 129.2
------------------- ---- -------- -------- --------- ---------- --------------- ----------- --------- -------
Transactions with
owners
Employee share
schemes
- value of
employee
services - - 3.3 - - - - 3.3
Exercise of
employee
share schemes - - (6.0) 7.0 - - - 1.0
Transfer of shares
from ESOT - - (0.2) 0.2 - - - -
Tax impact of
employee
share schemes - - 0.7 - - - - 0.7
Issue of ordinary
shares 13 0.5 182.4 - - - - - 182.9
------------------- ---- -------- -------- --------- ---------- --------------- ----------- --------- -------
Total transactions
with owners,
recognised
directly in equity 0.5 182.4 (2.2) 7.2 - - - 187.9
------------------- ---- -------- -------- --------- ---------- --------------- ----------- --------- -------
Balance at 31 March
2021 9.7 182.4 1,307.3 (10.7) (1,060.8) 0.8 30.0 458.7
------------------- ---- -------- -------- --------- ---------- --------------- ----------- --------- -------
Consolidated statement of cash flows
For the year ended 31 March 2021
2021 2020
Note GBPm GBPm
---------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations 16 152.9 265.5
Income taxes paid (28.2) (69.8)
---------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Net cash generated from operating activities 124.7 195.7
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchases of intangible assets - software (0.1) -
Purchases of intangible assets - financial systems - (0.2)
Purchases of property, plant and equipment (1.3) (1.3)
Payment for acquisition of subsidiary, net of
cash acquired 17 (10.0) (25.3)
---------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Net cash used in investing activities (11.4) (26.8)
Cash flows from financing activities
Dividends paid to Company's shareholders - (64.7)
Drawdown of Syndicated revolving credit facility 64.5 324.5
Repayment of Syndicated revolving credit facility (347.5) (324.5)
Repayment of other borrowings - (0.7)
Payment of refinancing fees (0.5) (0.5)
Payment of interest on borrowings (3.0) (6.4)
Payment of lease liabilities (2.5) (2.9)
Purchase of own shares for cancellation 13 - (57.4)
Purchase of own shares for treasury 14 - (4.3)
Payment of fees on repurchase of own shares - (0.3)
Proceeds from the issue of shares net of bookrunner
fees 13 183.2 -
Payment of fees on issue of own shares 13 (0.3) -
Contributions to defined benefit pension scheme (0.1) (0.1)
Proceeds from exercise of share-based incentives 1.0 0.1
---------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Net cash used in financing activities (105.2) (137.2)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 8.1 31.7
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 37.6 5.9
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year 45.7 37.6
---------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
1. General information
Basis of preparation
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in
accordance with international accounting standards in conformity
with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, and in accordance
with international financial reporting standards adopted pursuant
to Regulation (EC) No 1606/202 as it applies in the European
Union.
The following amendments to standards have been adopted by the
Group for the first time for the financial year beginning on 1
April 2020:
-- Amendments to References to Conceptual Framework in IFRS
Standards
-- Definition of a Business - Amendments to IFRS 3;
-- Definition of Material - Amendments to IAS 1 and IAS 8;
and
-- Interest Rate Benchmark Reform - Amendments to IFRS 9, IAS 39
and IFRS 7.
The adoption of these amendments has had no material effect on
the Group's consolidated financial statements.
There are a number of amendments to IFRS that have been issued
by the IASB that become mandatory in a subsequent accounting period
including: COVID-19 Related Rent Concessions - Amendment to IFRS 16
and Interest Rate Benchmark Reform Phase 2 - Amendments to IFRS 9,
IAS 39, IFRS 7, IFRS 4 and IFRS 16. The Group has evaluated these
changes and none are expected to have a significant impact on these
consolidated financial statements.
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the
going concern basis and under the historical cost convention.
The financial information set out in this document does not
constitute the statutory accounts of the Group for the
financial
years ended 31 March 2021 or 31 March 2020 but is derived from
the 2021 Annual Report and Financial Statements. The Annual Report
and Financial Statements for 2021 will be delivered to the
Registrar of Companies in due course. The auditors have reported on
those accounts and have given an unqualified report, which does not
contain a statement under Section 498 of the Companies Act
2006.
Going concern
During the year ended 31 March 2021 the Group has continued to
generate significant cash from operations despite the impact of
COVID-19. The Group has an overall positive net asset position and
had cash balances of GBP45.7m at 31 March 2021 (2020:
GBP37.6m).
In order to strengthen the Group's balance sheet and liquidity
position and increase certainty around meeting future covenant
tests despite the impact of the virus, the Group completed the
placing of 46,468,300 new ordinary shares for net proceeds of
GBP182.9m on 3 April 2020.
The Group has access to a Syndicated revolving credit facility
(the 'Syndicated RCF'). The Syndicated RCF, which is unsecured, has
total commitments of GBP400.0m. The Group has extended the term for
GBP316.5m of the Syndicated RCF to 23 June 2025. The balance
remains repayable on 23 June 2023. At 31 March 2021 the Group had
GBP30.0m of the facility drawn (2020: GBP313.0m).
Cash flow projections for a period of not less than 12 months
from the date of this report have been prepared. Stress case
scenarios have been modelled to make the assessment of going
concern, taking into account severe but plausible potential impacts
of the pandemic or a data breach. The results of the stress testing
demonstrated that due to the Group's significant free cash flow,
access to the Syndicated RCF and the Board's ability to adjust the
discretionary share buyback programme, it would be able to
withstand the impact and remain cash generative. Subsequent to the
year end, the Group has generated cash flows in line with its
forecast and there are no events that have adversely impacted the
Group's liquidity.
The Directors, after making enquiries and on the basis of
current financial projections and facilities available, believe
that the Group has adequate financial resources to continue in
operation for a period not less than 12 months from the date of
this report. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going
concern basis in preparing the financial statements.
Accounting estimates and judgements
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS
requires the use of certain accounting estimates and assumptions.
It also requires management to exercise its judgement in the
process of applying the Group's accounting policies. Estimates and
judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical
experience and other factors, including expectations of future
events that are believed to be reasonable under the
circumstances.
There are no accounting estimates or judgements which are
critical to the reporting of results of operations and financial
position. The accounting estimates and judgements believed to
require the most subjectivity or complexity are as follows:
The impact of COVID-19 on the recoverability of financial
assets
IFRS 9 prescribes that historical expected credit losses should
be adjusted for forward-looking information to reflect
macro-economic and market conditions. The closure of retailer
forecourts during the year ended 31 March 2021 has had an adverse
effect on the cash flows of retailers and is likely to increase
credit risk looking forward as Government support is withdrawn.
Adjustments were made to the expected credit losses on financial
assets to reflect this.
Carrying values of goodwill
The Group tests annually whether goodwill has suffered any
impairment. Judgement is required in the identification and
allocation of goodwill to cash generating units. The recoverable
amounts of cash-generating units have been determined based on
value-in-use calculations, which require the use of estimates.
Share-based payments
Share-based payment arrangements in which the Group receives
goods or services as consideration for its own equity instruments
are accounted for as equity-settled share-based payment
transactions. The fair value of services received in return for
share options is calculated with reference to the fair value of the
award on the date of grant. Black-Scholes and Monte Carlo models
have been used where appropriate to calculate the fair value and
the Directors have therefore made estimates with regard to the
inputs to that model and the period over which the share award is
expected to vest.
Acquisition accounting
The Group acquired Blue Owl Network Limited (comprising
ownership of 'AutoConvert') in the year. Assumptions are required
to separately identify and estimate the valuation of acquired
intangible assets.
2. Segmental information
IFRS 8 'Operating segments' requires the Group to determine its
operating segments based on information which is provided
internally. Based on the internal reporting information and
management structures within the Group in the year, it has been
determined that there is only one operating segment being the
Group, as the information reported includes operating results at a
consolidated Group level only. This reflects the nature of the
business, where the major cost is to support the IT platforms upon
which all of the Group's customers are serviced. These costs are
borne centrally and are not attributable to any specific customer
type or revenue stream. There is also considered to be only one
reportable segment, which is the Group, the results of which are
shown in the Consolidated income statement. This assessment is a
change from the prior year where Auto Trader, Webzone and
KeeResources were reported as separate Operating segments. The
Group has restated the corresponding items for prior periods.
Management has determined that there is one operating and
reporting segment based on the reports reviewed by the Operational
Leadership Team ('OLT') which is the chief operating decision-maker
('CODM'). The OLT is made up of the Executive Directors and Key
Management and is responsible for the strategic decision-making of
the Group.
The OLT primarily uses the statutory measures of Revenue and
Operating profit to assess the performance of the one operating
segment. To assist in the analysis of the Group's
revenue-generating trends, the OLT reviews revenue at a
disaggregated level as detailed within note 3. The revenue from
external parties reported to the OLT is measured in a manner
consistent with that in the income statement.
A reconciliation of the segment's Operating profit to Profit
before tax is shown below.
2021 2020
GBPm GBPm
Total segment Revenue 262.8 368.9
-------------------------- ----- -----
Total segment Operating
profit 161.2 258.9
Finance costs - net (3.8) (7.4)
-------------------------- ----- -----
Profit before tax 157.4 251.5
-------------------------- ----- -----
Geographic information
The Group is domiciled in the UK and the following tables detail
external revenue by location of customers, trade receivables and
non-current assets (excluding deferred tax) by geographic area:
2021 2020
Revenue GBPm GBPm
-------------- ----- -----
UK 259.0 363.6
Ireland 3.8 5.3
-------------- ----- -----
Total revenue 262.8 368.9
-------------- ----- -----
2021 2020
Trade receivables GBPm GBPm
---------------------------- ----- -----
UK 23.1 24.3
Ireland 0.2 0.7
---------------------------- ----- -----
Total net trade receivables 23.3 25.0
---------------------------- ----- -----
2021 2020
Non-current assets (excluding deferred tax) GBPm GBPm
-------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
UK 420.9 401.3
Ireland 6.3 6.8
-------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Total non-current assets (excluding deferred tax) 427.2 408.1
-------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Due to the large number of customers the Group serves, there are
no individual customers whose revenue is greater than 10% of the
Group's total revenue in all periods presented in these financial
statements.
3. Revenue
The Group's operations and main revenue streams are those
described in these annual financial statements. The Group's revenue
is derived from contracts with customers.
In the following table the Group's revenue is detailed by
customer type. This level of detail is consistent with that used by
management to assist in the analysis of the Group's
revenue-generating trends.
2021 2020
Revenue GBPm GBPm
------------------------ ----- -----
Retailer 211.9 312.1
Home Trader 6.3 8.3
Other 7.0 3.9
Trade 225.2 324.3
Consumer Services 26.6 28.3
Manufacturer and Agency 11.0 16.3
------------------------ ----- -----
Total revenue 262.8 368.9
------------------------ ----- -----
4. Operating profit
Operating profit is after charging the following:
2021 2020
Note GBPm GBPm
----------------------------------------------- ---- ------ ------
Staff costs (59.9) (55.3)
Contractor costs (0.1) (0.5)
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 9 (3.7) (3.9)
Amortisation of intangible assets 8 (2.6) (2.6)
(Loss) / Profit on sale of property, plant and
equipment (0.2) 0.3
----------------------------------------------- ---- ------ ------
5. Net Finance costs
2021 2020
GBPm GBPm
------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
On bank loans and overdrafts 2.9 6.3
Amortisation of debt issue costs 0.6 0.7
Interest unwind on lease liabilities 0.3 0.4
Interest charged on deferred consideration 0.1 -
Interest receivable on cash and cash equivalents (0.1) -
------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Total 3.8 7.4
------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
6. Taxation
2021 2020
GBPm GBPm
-------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Current taxation
UK corporation taxation 28.8 47.1
Foreign taxation - 0.2
Adjustments in respect of prior years - (0.1)
-------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Total current taxation 28.8 47.2
-------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Deferred taxation
Origination and reversal of temporary differences 0.5 -
Effect of rate changes on opening balance - (0.8)
Adjustments in respect of prior years 0.3 -
-------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Total deferred taxation 0.8 (0.8)
-------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Total taxation charge 29.6 46.4
-------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
The taxation charge for the year is lower than (2020: lower
than) the effective rate of corporation tax in the UK of 19% (2020:
19%). The differences are explained below:
2021 2020
GBPm GBPm
------------------------------------------------------ ----- -----
Profit before taxation 157.4 251.5
------------------------------------------------------ ----- -----
Tax on profit at the standard UK corporation tax rate
of 19% (2020: 19%) 29.9 47.8
Expenses not deductible for taxation purposes 0.1 0.2
Income not taxable (0.7) (0.6)
Adjustments in respect of foreign tax rates 0.0 (0.1)
Effect of rate changed on deferred tax - (0.8)
Adjustments in respect of prior years 0.3 (0.1)
------------------------------------------------------ ----- -----
Total taxation charge 29.6 46.4
------------------------------------------------------ ----- -----
Taxation on items taken directly to equity was a credit of
GBP0.7m (2020: GBP0.4m) relating to tax on share-based
payments.
Tax recorded in equity within the consolidated statement of
comprehensive income was a charge of GBP0.8m (2020: GBP0.3m)
relating to post-employment benefit obligations.
The tax charge for the year is based on the standard rate of UK
corporation tax for the period of 19% (2020: 19%). Deferred income
taxes have been measured at the tax rate expected to be applicable
at the date the deferred income tax assets and liabilities are
realised.
Management has performed an assessment, for all material
deferred income tax assets and liabilities, to determine the period
over which the deferred income tax assets and liabilities are
forecast to be realised, which has resulted in an average deferred
income tax rate of 19% being used to measure all deferred tax
balances as at 31 March 2021 (2020: 19%).
The 3 March 2021 Budget announced that the UK corporation tax
rate will increase to 25% from 1 April 2023. This will have a
consequential effect on the Group's future UK corporation tax
charge.
7. Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share is calculated using the weighted
average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year,
excluding those held by the Employee Share Option Trust ('ESOT'),
based on the profit for the year attributable to shareholders.
Weighted
average
number Total
of ordinary earnings Pence
shares GBPm per share
------------------------- ------------ --------- ----------
Year ended 31 March 2021
Basic EPS 965,175,677 127.8 13.24
Diluted EPS 967,404,812 127.8 13.21
------------------------- ------------ --------- ----------
Year ended 31 March 2020
Basic EPS 924,499,320 205.1 22.19
Diluted EPS 929,247,835 205.1 22.08
------------------------- ------------ --------- ----------
The number of shares in issue at the start of the year is
reconciled to the basic and diluted weighted average number of
shares below:
Weighted
average
number
Year ended 31 March 2021 of shares
---------------------------------------------------- ------------
Issued ordinary shares at 31 March 2020 922,540,474
Ordinary shares issued on 3 April 2020 equity raise 46,468,300
Ordinary shares issued for share-based payments 15,412
---------------------------------------------------- ------------
Weighted average ordinary shares in issue 968,754,995
---------------------------------------------------- ------------
Weighted effect of ordinary shares held in treasury (3,123,323)
Weighted effect of shares held by the ESOT (455,995)
---------------------------------------------------- ------------
Weighted average number of shares for basic EPS 965,175,677
---------------------------------------------------- ------------
Dilutive impact of share options outstanding 2,229,135
---------------------------------------------------- ------------
Weighted average number of shares for diluted EPS 967,404,812
---------------------------------------------------- ------------
For diluted earnings per share, the weighted average number of
ordinary shares in issue is adjusted to assume conversion of all
potentially dilutive ordinary shares. The Group has potentially
dilutive ordinary shares arising from share options granted to
employees. Options are dilutive under the Sharesave scheme where
the exercise price together with the future IFRS 2 charge is less
than the average market price of the ordinary shares during the
year. Options under the Performance Share Plan, Single Incentive
Plan Award, the Deferred Annual Bonus Plan and the Share Incentive
Plan are contingently issuable shares and are therefore only
included within the calculation of diluted EPS if the performance
conditions are satisfied.
The average market value of the Group's shares for the purposes
of calculating the dilutive effect of share-based incentives was
based on quoted market prices for the period during which the
share-based incentives were outstanding.
8. Intangible assets
Software
and website
development Financial
Goodwill costs systems Database Other Total
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
-------------------------- -------- ------------ --------- -------- ----- -----
Cost
At 31 March 2019 430.3 13.2 12.9 - 15.8 472.2
Acquired through business
combinations 13.9 1.9 - 8.5 2.2 26.5
Additions - - 0.2 - - 0.2
Disposals - (5.8) - - - (5.8)
Exchange differences 0.3 - - - 0.1 0.4
-------------------------- -------- ------------ --------- -------- ----- -----
At 31 March 2020 444.5 9.3 13.1 8.5 18.1 493.5
Acquired through business
combinations 13.6 5.5 - - - 19.1
Additions - 0.1 - - - 0.1
Disposals - (0.4) - - - (0.4)
Exchange differences (0.2) (0.1) - (0.1) (0.4)
-------------------------- -------- ------------ --------- -------- ----- -----
At 31 March 2021 457.9 14.4 13.1 8.5 18.0 511.9
-------------------------- -------- ------------ --------- -------- ----- -----
Accumulated amortisation and
impairments
------------------------------------ ------------ --------- -------- ----- -----
At 31 March 2019 117.0 12.8 11.3 - 13.6 154.7
Amortisation charge - 0.4 0.9 0.3 1.0 2.6
Disposals - (5.8) - - - (5.8)
Exchange differences - 0.1 - - - 0.1
-------------------------- -------- ------------ --------- -------- ----- -----
At 31 March 2020 117.0 7.5 12.2 0.3 14.6 151.6
Amortisation charge - 1.3 0.6 0.6 0.1 2.6
Disposals - (0.4) - - - (0.4)
Exchange differences - (0.1) - - - (0.1)
-------------------------- -------- ------------ --------- -------- ----- -----
At 31 March 2021 117.0 8.3 12.8 0.9 14.7 153.7
-------------------------- -------- ------------ --------- -------- ----- -----
Net book value at 31
March 2021 340.9 6.1 0.3 7.6 3.3 358.2
Net book value at 31
March 2020 327.5 1.8 0.9 8.2 3.5 341.9
Net book value at 31
March 2019 313.3 0.4 1.6 - 2.2 317.5
-------------------------- -------- ------------ --------- -------- ----- -----
Other intangibles include customer relationships, technology,
trade names, trademarks, non-compete agreements and brand assets.
Intangible assets which have a finite useful life are carried at
cost less accumulated amortisation. Amortisation of these
intangible assets is calculated using the straight-line method to
allocate the cost of the assets over their estimated useful lives
(3 to 15 years). The longest estimated useful life remaining at 31
March 2021 is 14 years (31 March 2020: 15 years).
For the year to 31 March 2021, the amortisation charge of
GBP2.6m (2020: GBP2.6m) has been charged to administrative expenses
in the income statement. At 31 March 2021, there were no software
and website development costs representing assets under
construction (2020: GBP0.1m).
In accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards,
goodwill is not amortised, but instead is tested annually for
impairment, or more frequently if there are indicators of
impairment. Goodwill is carried at cost less accumulated impairment
losses.
9. Property, plant and equipment
Land, buildings
and leasehold Office Motor
improvements equipment vehicles Total
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
--------------------------------------- --------------- ---------- --------- -----
Cost
At 31 March 2019 17.8 14.0 1.2 33.0
Acquired through business combinations 2.2 0.1 0.1 2.4
Additions 0.1 1.1 0.1 1.3
Disposals and modifications (3.6) (0.1) (0.1) (3.8)
--------------------------------------- --------------- ---------- --------- -----
At 31 March 2020 16.5 15.1 1.3 32.9
Additions 0.6 0.7 0.7 2.0
Disposals and modifications (0.6) (2.8) (0.1) (3.5)
--------------------------------------- --------------- ---------- --------- -----
At 31 March 2021 16.5 13.0 1.9 31.4
--------------------------------------- --------------- ---------- --------- -----
Accumulated depreciation
--------------------------------------- --------------- ---------- --------- -----
At 31 March 2019 4.3 11.1 0.9 16.3
Charge for the year 2.1 1.5 0.3 3.9
Disposals (0.2) (0.1) (0.1) (0.4)
--------------------------------------- --------------- ---------- --------- -----
At 31 March 2020 6.2 12.5 1.1 19.8
Charge for the year 2.5 0.9 0.3 3.7
Disposals (0.5) (2.8) - (3.3)
--------------------------------------- --------------- ---------- --------- -----
At 31 March 2021 8.2 10.6 1.4 20.2
--------------------------------------- --------------- ---------- --------- -----
Net book value at 31 March 2021 8.3 2.4 0.5 11.2
Net book value at 31 March 2020 10.3 2.6 0.2 13.1
Net book value at 31 March 2019 13.5 2.9 0.3 16.7
--------------------------------------- --------------- ---------- --------- -----
Included within property, plant and equipment are GBP5.6m (2020:
GBP6.8m) of assets recognised as leases under IFRS 16. The
depreciation expense of GBP3.7m for the year to 31 March 2021
(2020: GBP3.9m) has been recorded in administrative expenses.
During the year, GBP3.3m (2020: GBP0.4m) worth of property,
plant and equipment with GBPnil net book value were disposed
of.
10. Leases
The Group leases assets including land and buildings and motor
vehicles that are held within property, plant and equipment.
Information about leases for which the Group is a lessee is
presented below.
2021 2020
GBPm GBPm
--------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Net book value property, plant and equipment owned 5.6 6.3
Net book value right of use assets 5.6 6.8
--------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
11.2 13.1
--------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Land, buildings
and leasehold Office Motor
improvements equipment vehicles Total
Net book value of right of use assets GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
-------------------------------------- --------------- ---------- --------- -----
Balance at 31 March 2019 11.5 0.1 0.3 11.9
-------------------------------------- --------------- ---------- --------- -----
Additions - - 0.1 0.1
Disposals (1.4) - - (1.4)
Modifications (2.1) - - (2.1)
Depreciation charge (1.5) - (0.2) (1.7)
-------------------------------------- --------------- ---------- --------- -----
Balance at 31 March 2020 6.5 0.1 0.2 6.8
-------------------------------------- --------------- ---------- --------- -----
Additions - - 0.7 0.7
Depreciation charge (1.6) - (0.3) (1.9)
-------------------------------------- --------------- ---------- --------- -----
At 31 March 2021 4.9 0.1 0.6 5.6
-------------------------------------- --------------- ---------- --------- -----
2021 2020
Lease liabilities in the balance sheet at 31 March GBPm GBPm
--------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Current 2.5 2.1
Non-current 5.0 7.0
--------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Total 7.5 9.1
--------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
The term recognised for certain leases has assumed lease break
options are exercised. Certain lease rentals are subject to
periodic market rental reviews.
During the prior year the Group renegotiated the lease
agreements for its London and Manchester offices. The accounting
adjustments under IFRS 16 are set out below:
The Group surrendered a proportion of the London office back to
the landlord. The surrender represents a disposal under IFRS 16.
The right of use asset was reduced by GBP1.4m to reflect the value
of assets disposed. The Group's lease liability reduced by GBP1.6m
with a GBP0.2m gain on disposal recognised in the Consolidated
income statement.
In the prior year the Group renegotiated the London office lease
agreement for the remaining office space. The change to the
agreement represented a modification under IFRS 16. The right of
use asset was increased by GBP1.0m to reflect the value of the
asset held after the modification. The Group's lease liability
increased by GBP0.9m as a result of the modification and the
dilapidations provision increased by GBP0.1m.
In the prior year the Group renegotiated the rent payable for
the Manchester office in line with the rent review date stipulated
in the lease agreement and the Group reassessed the lease term
based on the likelihood of exercising the break clause within the
lease agreement. These changes represented a lease modification
under IFRS 16. The right of use asset was reduced by GBP3.1m with
corresponding adjustment to the lease liability and dilapidations
provision.
2021 2020
Amounts charged in the income statement GBPm GBPm
---------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Depreciation charge of right-of-use assets 1.9 1.7
Interest on lease liabilities 0.3 0.4
Gain on disposal of right-of-use assets - 0.2
---------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Total amounts charged in the income statement 2.2 2.3
---------------------------------------------- ----- -----
2021 2020
Cash outflow GBPm GBPm
------------------------------ ----- -----
Total cash outflow for leases 2.5 2.9
------------------------------ ----- -----
11. Net investments in joint ventures
Joint ventures are contractual arrangements over which the Group
exercises joint control with partners and where the parties have
rights to the net assets of the arrangement, irrespective of the
Group's shareholding in the entity.
The Group owns 49% of the ordinary share capital of Dealer
Auction Limited (previously Dealer Auction (Holdings) Limited).
Net investments in joint ventures at the reporting date include
the Group's equity investment in joint ventures and the Group's
share of the joint ventures' post acquisition net assets. The table
below reconciles the movement in the Group's net investment in
joint ventures in the year:
Equity Group's
investments share Net investments
in joint of net in joint
ventures assets ventures
GBPm GBPm GBPm
------------------------------------------------- ------------ ------- ---------------
Carrying value
As at 1 April 2019 48.1 0.9 49.0
Share of result for the year taken to the income
statement - 3.2 3.2
------------------------------------------------- ------------ ------- ---------------
As at 31 March 2020 48.1 4.1 52.2
------------------------------------------------- ------------ ------- ---------------
Share of result for the year taken to the income
statement - 2.4 2.4
------------------------------------------------- ------------ ------- ---------------
As at 31 March 2021 48.1 6.5 54.6
------------------------------------------------- ------------ ------- ---------------
2021 2020
GBPm GBPm
--------------------------- ----- -----
Revenues 10.9 13.0
Profit for the year 4.9 6.4
--------------------------- ----- -----
Total comprehensive income 4.9 6.4
--------------------------- ----- -----
The above information reflects the amounts presented in the
financial statements of the joint venture and not the Group's share
of those amounts. They have been amended for differences in
accounting policies between the Group and the joint venture.
Dealer Auction Limited declared a dividend of GBP10.0m on 29
April 2021. The Group owns 49% of the ordinary share capital of
Dealer Auction Limited and therefore received payment of GBP4.9m on
14 May 2021.
12. Borrowings
2021 2020
Non-current GBPm GBPm
----------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Syndicated RCF gross of unamortised debt issue costs 30.0 313.0
Unamortised debt issue costs on Syndicated RCF (2.4) (2.5)
----------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
Total 27.6 310.5
----------------------------------------------------- ----- -----
The Syndicated RCF is repayable as follows:
2021 2020
GBPm GBPm
------------------ ----- -----
Two to five years 30.0 313.0
------------------ ----- -----
Total 30.0 313.0
------------------ ----- -----
The carrying amounts of borrowings approximate their fair
values.
Syndicated revolving credit facility ('Syndicated RCF')
The Group has access to a Syndicated revolving credit facility
(the 'Syndicated RCF'). The Syndicated RCF, which is unsecured, has
total commitments of GBP400.0m and the associated debt transaction
costs at initiation were GBP3.3m.
On 1 June 2020, the Group extended the term for GBP316.5m of the
Syndicated RCF for an additional one year, incurring additional
associated debt transaction costs of GBP0.5m. The Syndicated RCF
will now terminate in two tranches:
-- GBP83.5m will mature at the original termination date of June
2023; and
-- GBP316.5m will mature in June 2025.
Individual tranches are drawn down, in sterling, for periods of
up to six months at LIBOR rates plus a margin of between 1.2% and
2.1% depending on the consolidated leverage ratio of the Group. A
commitment fee of 35% of the margin applicable to the Syndicated
RCF is payable quarterly in arrears on unutilised amounts of the
total facility.
The Syndicated RCF has financial covenants linked to interest
cover and the consolidated debt cover of the Group:
-- Net bank Debt to Consolidated EBITDA must not exceed
3.5:1.
-- EBITDA to Net Interest Payable must not be less than
3.0:1.
EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxation,
depreciation and amortisation, share-based payments and associated
NI, share of profit from joint ventures, exceptional items and
adjusting for the adoption of IFRS 16.
All financial covenants of the facility have been complied with
through the year.
Exposure to interest rate changes
The exposure of the Group's borrowings (excluding debt issue
costs) to LIBOR rate changes and the contractual repricing dates at
the balance sheet date are as follows:
2021 2020
GBPm GBPm
------------------ ----- -----
One month or less 30.0 313.0
------------------ ----- -----
Total 30.0 313.0
------------------ ----- -----
13. Share capital
2021 2020
-------------------------------------------- --------------- ----------------
Number Amount Number Amount
Share capital '000 GBPm '000 GBPm
-------------------------------------------- ------- ------ -------- ------
Allotted, called-up and fully paid ordinary
shares of 1p each
At 1 April 922,541 9.2 933,198 9.3
Purchase and cancellation of own shares - - (10,657) (0.1)
Issue of shares 46,483 0.5 - -
-------------------------------------------- ------- ------ -------- ------
Total 969,024 9.7 922,541 9.2
-------------------------------------------- ------- ------ -------- ------
On 1 April 2020 the Company announced its intention to conduct a
non-pre-emptive placing of up to 5% of its issued share capital. On
3 April 2020 the placing was completed, and a total of 46,468,300
new ordinary shares were allotted for a consideration of 400.00
pence per Placing Share, a discount of 8.9% to the closing share
price of 439.1 pence on 31 March 2020. The placing raised gross
proceeds of GBP185.9m for the Company, or GBP182.9m net of all fees
incurred. An additional GBP0.3m of other fees were incurred as a
result of the placing. Share premium of GBP182.4m has been
recorded.
On 3 April 2020, the Placing Shares were admitted to the premium
listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct
Authority and to trading on the main market for listed securities
of London Stock Exchange plc (together, 'Admission').
The Placing Shares rank pari passu in all respects with the
existing ordinary shares in the Company, including the right to
receive all dividends and other distributions declared, made or
paid after the date of issue. Immediately following Admission, the
total number of shares in issue in the Company was 969,008,774.
Auto Trader held 4,090,996 shares in treasury, and, therefore, the
total number of voting shares in Auto Trader in issue was
964,917,778.
A further 15,412 ordinary shares were issued in the year ended
31 March 2021 for the settlement of share-based payments.
In the year ended 31 March 2017, the Company commenced a share
buyback programme. By resolutions passed at the 2020 AGM, the
Company's shareholders generally authorised the Company to make
market purchases of up to 96,560,474 of its ordinary shares,
subject to minimum and maximum price restrictions. In the year
ended 31 March 2020, a total of 11,431,823 ordinary shares of
GBP0.01 were purchased. The average price paid was 538.8p with a
total consideration paid (inclusive of all costs) of GBP62.0m.
773,734 shares were purchased to be held in treasury with
10,657,089 being cancelled.
Included within shares in issue at 31 March 2021 are 404,653
(2020: 523,955) shares held by the ESOT and 2,422,659 (2020:
4,090,996) shares held in treasury, as detailed in note 14.
14. Own shares held
ESOT shares Treasury
reserve shares Total
Own shares held - GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
-------------------------------------- ----------- ---------- -----------
Own shares held as at 1 April 2019 (0.8) (15.7) (16.5)
Transfer of shares from ESOT 0.1 - 0.1
Repurchase of own shares for treasury - (4.3) (4.3)
Share-based incentives exercised - 2.8 2.8
-------------------------------------- ----------- ---------- -----------
Own shares held as at 31 March 2020 (0.7) (17.2) (17.9)
-------------------------------------- ----------- ---------- -----------
Own shares held as at 1 April 2020 (0.7) (17.2) (17.9)
Transfer of shares from ESOT 0.2 - 0.2
Share-based incentives exercised - 7.0 7.0
-------------------------------------- ----------- ---------- -----------
Own shares held as at 31 March 2021 (0.5) (10.2) (10.7)
-------------------------------------- ----------- ---------- -----------
Total
ESOT shares Treasury number
reserve shares of
Number Number own shares
Own shares held - number of shares of shares held
-------------------------------------- ----------- ---------- -----------
Own shares held as at 1 April 2019 565,555 3,996,041 4,561,596
Transfer of shares from ESOT (41,600) - (41,600)
Repurchase of own shares for treasury - 774,734 774,734
Share-based incentives exercised - (679,779) (679,779)
-------------------------------------- ----------- ---------- -----------
Own shares held as at 31 March 2020 523,955 4,090,996 4,614,951
-------------------------------------- ----------- ---------- -----------
Total
ESOT shares Treasury number
reserve shares of
Number Number own shares
Own shares held - number of shares of shares held
------------------------------------ ----------- ----------- -----------
Own shares held as at 1 April 2020 523,955 4,090,996 4,614,951
Transfer of shares from ESOT (119,302) - (119,302)
Share-based incentives exercised - (1,668,337) (1,668,337)
------------------------------------ ----------- ----------- -----------
Own shares held as at 31 March 2021 404,653 2,422,659 2,827,312
------------------------------------ ----------- ----------- -----------
15. Dividends
Dividends declared and paid by the Company were as follows:
2021 2020
--------------------------- ---------------- ----------------
Pence Pence
per share GBPm per share GBPm
--------------------------- ---------- ---- ---------- ----
2019 final dividend paid - - 4.6 42.6
2020 interim dividend paid - - 2.4 22.1
--------------------------- ---------- ---- ---------- ----
- - 7.0 64.7
--------------------------- ---------- ---- ---------- ----
No 2020 final dividend or 2021 interim dividend was declared and
therefore no dividends have been paid out in the period.
The proposed final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2021 of
5.0p per share, totalling GBP48.3m, is subject to approval by
shareholders at the Annual General Meeting ('AGM') and hence has
not been included as a liability in the financial statements.
16. Cash generated from operations
2021 2020
GBPm GBPm
----------------------------------------------------------- ------ -----
Profit before taxation 157.4 251.5
Adjustments for:
Depreciation 3.7 3.9
Amortisation 2.6 2.6
Share-based payments charge (excluding associated NI) 3.3 3.4
Share of profit from joint ventures (2.4) (3.2)
Loss / (profit) on sale of property, plant and equipment 0.2 (0.3)
Difference between pension charge and cash contributions 0.2 0.2
Finance costs 3.8 7.4
RDEC (0.1) -
Changes in working capital (excluding the effects of
exchange differences on consolidation):
Trade and other receivables (3.6) 1.0
Trade and other payables (12.3) (0.2)
Provisions 0.1 (0.8)
----------------------------------------------------------- ------ -----
Cash generated from operations 152.9 265.5
----------------------------------------------------------- ------ -----
17. Business combinations
Blue Owl Network Limited
On 31 July 2020, the Group acquired the entire share capital of
Blue Owl Network Limited ('Blue Owl') for consideration of
GBP18.2m, of which GBP8.1m will be deferred until 31 July 2022. The
deferred consideration has been discounted using a rate of 1.7% and
recognised on the balance sheet at GBP7.8m.
Blue Owl owns 'AutoConvert', a finance, insurance and compliance
software platform with integrated customer relationship management
solutions for the automotive sector. The total consideration paid
and payable of GBP18.2m excludes acquisition costs of GBP0.4m which
were recognised within administrative expenses in the Consolidated
income statement.
The following table provides a reconciliation of the amounts
included in the Consolidated statement of cash flows for the
period:
2021
GBPm
------------------------- -----
Cash paid for subsidiary 10.1
Less: cash acquired (0.1)
------------------------- -----
Net cash outflow 10.0
------------------------- -----
From the acquisition date to 31 March 2021, Blue Owl contributed
a loss of GBP0.3m to the Group's operating profit and revenue of
GBP1.7 million.
If the acquisition had occurred on 1 April 2020, Blue Owl
revenue would have been an estimated GBP2.6m and loss would have
been an estimated GBP0.5m. In determining these amounts, management
has assumed that the fair value adjustments that arose on the date
of acquisition would have been the same if the acquisition occurred
on 1 April 2020.
The purchase has been accounted for as a business combination
under the acquisition method in accordance with IFRS 3. The fair
value of net assets acquired was assessed resulting in a fair value
adjustment to recognise intangible software assets acquired and
related deferred tax. No other material adjustments from book value
were made to existing assets and liabilities. The period in which
measurement adjustments could be made is still open on this
acquisition and the provisional goodwill calculation is summarised
below:
Fair value
GBPm
------------------------------------------------------ ----------
Intangible asset recognised on acquisition:
Software 5.5
Deferred tax liability arising on intangible assets (1.0)
------------------------------------------------------ ----------
Intangible assets recognised and related deferred tax 4.5
------------------------------------------------------ ----------
Current assets
Trade and other receivables 0.3
Cash and cash equivalents 0.1
------------------------------------------------------ ----------
Current assets 0.4
------------------------------------------------------ ----------
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 0.6
------------------------------------------------------ ----------
Total net assets acquired 4.3
------------------------------------------------------ ----------
Goodwill 13.6
------------------------------------------------------ ----------
Total assets acquired 17.9
------------------------------------------------------ ----------
Fair value of cash and deferred consideration 17.9
------------------------------------------------------ ----------
The goodwill recognised on acquisition relates to value arising
from revenue and cost synergies and intangible assets that are not
separately identifiable under IFRS 3, including non-contractual
relationships and the acquired workforce. None of the acquired
intangible assets is expected to be deductible for tax
purposes.
In addition to the goodwill recognised, the software asset
obtained through the acquisition met the requirements to be
separately identifiable under IFRS 3. The asset represents the
'AutoConvert' finance, insurance and compliance software platform
that enables automotive dealers and brokers to connect with
multiple lenders.
The fair value is based on the estimated present value of the
cost to recreate the asset, allowing for a developer's margin.
KeeResources Limited
On 1 October 2019, Auto Trader Limited, a subsidiary of Auto
Trader Group plc, acquired the entire share capital of KeeResources
Limited for consideration, net of cash acquired, of GBP25.3m.
KeeResources is a trusted provider of software, data, and
digital solutions to the automotive industry, including a detailed
vehicle dataset for new and used cars which Auto Trader uses to
power its platform. KeeResources has been an integral supplier to
Auto Trader, as its unique vehicle data underpins much of the Auto
Trader core platform. The total cash consideration paid of GBP26.8m
excludes acquisition costs of GBP0.2m which were recognised within
administrative expenses in the Consolidated income statement.
The following table provides a reconciliation of the amounts
included in the Consolidated statement of cash flows:
2020
GBPm
------------------------- -----
Cash paid for subsidiary 26.8
Less: cash acquired (1.5)
------------------------- -----
Net cash outflow 25.3
------------------------- -----
From the period from acquisition to 31 March 2020, KeeResources
contributed revenue of GBP2.4m, and a loss of GBP0.2m to the
Group's results.
If the acquisition had occurred on 1 April 2019, KeeResources
revenue would have been an estimated GBP4.9m and loss would have
been an estimated GBP0.4m. In determining these amounts, management
has assumed that the fair value adjustments that arose on the date
of acquisition would have been the same if the acquisition occurred
on 1 April 2019.
The purchase has been accounted for as a business combination
under the acquisition method in accordance with IFRS 3. The fair
value of net assets acquired was assessed and no material
adjustments from book value were made to existing assets and
liabilities. The period in which measurement adjustments could be
made has now closed on this acquisition and the final goodwill
calculation is summarised below:
Fair value
GBPm
---------------------------------------------------- ----------
Intangible assets recognised on acquisition:
Customer relationships 1.5
Software 1.9
Database 8.5
Brand 0.7
Deferred tax liability arising on intangible assets (2.1)
---------------------------------------------------- ----------
Intangible assets and related deferred tax 10.5
Property, plant and equipment 2.4
Deferred tax asset 0.1
---------------------------------------------------- ----------
Non-current assets 13.0
Current assets
Trade and other receivables 0.8
Cash and cash equivalents 1.5
---------------------------------------------------- ----------
Current assets 2.3
---------------------------------------------------- ----------
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings 0.7
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 0.4
Deferred income 1.3
---------------------------------------------------- ----------
Current liabilities 1.7
---------------------------------------------------- ----------
Total net assets acquired 12.9
---------------------------------------------------- ----------
Goodwill on acquisition 13.9
---------------------------------------------------- ----------
Total assets acquired 26.8
---------------------------------------------------- ----------
Cash consideration 26.8
---------------------------------------------------- ----------
The goodwill recognised on acquisition relates to value arising
from intangible assets that are not separately identifiable under
IFRS 3. None of the acquired intangible assets or goodwill is
expected to be deductible for tax purposes.
In addition to the goodwill recognised, the customer
relationships, brand, software, and database obtained through the
acquisition met the requirements to be separately identifiable
under IFRS 3. The database asset represents highly granular and
accurate vehicle data set which KeeResources maintains and sells to
customers; the database was valued based on subscription revenue
that customers pay to access the data. The software asset is the
Fleetware software which is used by leasing companies and contract
hire providers to manage every aspect of fleet operations; the
software was valued based on the subscription revenue that
customers pay to Kee to use the software.
On acquisition the net assets of KeeResources Limited included
borrowings of GBP0.7m relating to a mortgage held over land and
buildings. On 2 October 2019 the Group repaid the outstanding
amount of GBP0.7m, together with accrued interest under the terms
of the mortgage agreement.
18. Post balance sheet events
Manchester office lease
On 14 April 2021, the Group entered into a new lease arrangement
to rent an additional 16,000 square feet in our Manchester office
to support the needs of our growing workforce. The lease will last
for five years until April 2026 with total lease commitments over
the five-year period of GBP1.9m.
Dealer Auction dividend
The Group's joint venture, Dealer Auction Limited, declared a
dividend of GBP10.0m on 29 April 2021. The Group owns 49% of the
ordinary share capital of Dealer Auction Limited and therefore
received payment of GBP4.9m on 14 May 2021.
Principal risks and uncertainties
Risk POTENTIAL IMPACT CHANGES IN THE YEAR
------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------
1. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented levels of
COVID-19 disruption to every aspect of the * Economy: New car registrations declined 24.9% and
UK economy, the automotive market, our customers, our used car transactions declined 15.1% in the 12 months
consumers, our suppliers, our employees to March 2021. However, the UK economy is starting to
and the way we operate our business. Between 24 March 2020 recover, and whilst the economic outlook for the UK
and at various points throughout is uncertain, our current Auto Trader data sets show
the year, the Government introduced measures to contain the that there is a robust level of consumer demand in
spread of COVID-19 which resulted the market.
in a series of national and local lockdowns in the UK and
Ireland. This impacted on many of
our existing principal risks as follows: * Employees: We seamlessly transitioned to working
* Economy: The COVID-19 restrictions resulted in remotely by adapting our systems and technology to
vehicle retailers being required to close their enable our employees to continue working
showrooms, which had an immediate impact on vehicle collaboratively despite being at home. We have also
transactions and the automotive retailing landscape. permanently introduced a new flexible working policy,
As the restrictions eased, there was a risk that which will enable a hybrid way of working in future.
decreased consumer confidence could lead to a reduced With health and wellbeing being paramount,
number of transactions. These risks could impact our initiatives were launched to increase employee
ability to generate revenue and collect cash from our support services.
retailer customers, our Manufacturer and Agency
customers and private sellers.
* Reliance on third parties: All of our critical and
material suppliers continued to operate without
* Employees: In line with Government guidance, the vast disruption.
majority of our workforce continued to work remotely
during the year. There is a risk that this could
result in an adverse impact on our collaborative * A crisis or major event prevents the business or its
culture and ways of working, and on our employees' customers/suppliers from being able to operate: The
mental health and wellbeing. There is a future risk business was able to continue to operate fully
when we return to office working to ensure that the throughout the period. Our customers were required to
health of our employees is protected. close their forecourts at various periods throughout
the year, but were able to continue to operate on a
click and collect or home delivery basis. This was
* Reliance on third parties: The economic situation supported by our new product offerings and financial
increased the risk of failure for third-party support.
suppliers, which could impact our ability to provide
services to our customers, or adversely affect the
consumer experience leading to a loss in audience.
Overall, the risk level on all of the COVID-19 related
risks has decreased during the year,
* A crisis or major event prevents the business or its and up to the date of this report.
customers/suppliers from being able to operate: Any
scenario, including that of a pandemic, in which our
customers would be forced to close, or where our
employees would not be able to work from our premises
for sustained periods of time, could cause major
disruption to our business.
------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------
2. Economy, There are a number of scenarios which could lead to a New car registrations declined by 24.9% and used car
market and contraction in the number of new or transactions decreased by 15.1% in the
business used car transactions, including the COVID-19 pandemic (as 12 months to March 2021. However, the UK economy is starting to
environment described above in (1)); the impact recover, and whilst the economic
of the trade agreement with respect to the UK's departure outlook for the UK is uncertain, our current Auto Trader data
from the EU; or supply chain disruptions. sets show that there is a robust
These could result in reduced retailer profitability, level of consumer demand in the market.
leading to a fall in advertising spend
or a contraction in the number of retailers. It could also We have not seen material evidence of consolidation by retailers
lead to a reduction in manufacturers' during the year, and retailer
spend on digital display advertising. numbers have only marginally fallen.
The final Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the UK and the
EU removed significant levels
of uncertainty, as vehicles will be able to be freely traded
without tariffs applying (although
with an increased administration burden). However, the
requirements around the Rules of Origin
have the potential to create a barrier to trade, in particular
in respect of the manufacture
of batteries, where there is a lack of domestic production
facilities.
There is a current global shortage of microchips, which is
having an impact on production
for some brands. This may result in a temporary shortage in
supply, impacting how much new
car stock dealers have available to advertise, and temporarily
slowing down the transaction
cycle.
Overall, on balance, this risk has remained unchanged.
------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------
3. Our brand is one of our biggest assets. Our research shows Our research shows that Auto Trader has over 90% prompted brand
Brand and that we are the most trusted automotive awareness with consumers for
reputation classified brand in the UK. new and used cars and is consistently voted as the most
influential automotive website by
Failure to maintain and protect our brand, or negative consumers in the car buying process.
publicity that affects our reputation
(for example, a data breach), could diminish the confidence We continue to see very low levels of fraudulent and misleading
that retailers, consumers and adverts, due to additional
advertisers have in our products and services, and result measures and monitoring techniques used by our security team.
in a reduction in audience and revenue.
------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------
4. There are several online competitors in the automotive The competitive landscape continues to develop, with new
Increased classified market, and alternative business models emerging. Big media
competition routes for consumers to sell cars, such as car buying players, such as Facebook, have entered the marketplace, mostly
services or part-exchange. Competitors competing for lower-value
could develop a superior consumer experience or retailer private sales. Retailers and manufacturers are also evolving
products that we are unable to replicate; their online offerings. Our diversification
or change focus to try to expand their range of stock and into other adjacent activities also results in a wider
disrupt our market position. competitor set.
This could impact our ability to grow revenue due to the During the year, we held more than a 75% share of minutes spent
loss of audience or customers, or on automotive classified sites,
erosion of our paid-for business model. and our cross platform visits grew by over 15% as measured by
Google Analytics. The actions
we took to support customers throughout the pandemic were
market-leading and helped us to
maintain our levels of retailer customers and stock.
The impact of COVID-19 has strengthened the case for online
marketing of vehicles which has
reduced the attractiveness of offline competitors.
------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------
5. Failure to develop and execute new products or We remain at the forefront of innovation in the digital
Failure to technologies, or to adapt to changing consumer automotive marketplace.
innovate: behaviour towards car buying, or ownership, could have an
disruptive adverse impact. For example, this At the start of the year, we launched a new data tool called
technologies could lead to missed opportunities should we fail to be at Market Insight, designed to help
and changing the forefront of industry developments. retailers identify and adapt to market trends in vehicle supply
consumer and consumer demand in both
behaviours their local and national marketplace.
During the year, we adapted our marketplace to further help
retailers advertise their stock
during the pandemic. We increased the size of retailer adverts
in search listings, added COVID-19
secure flags for retailers who adopted safety measures and
provided detail of home delivery
and collection options.
We are also developing products to enable more of the car-buying
journey to be done online.
We have developed and launched a Guaranteed Part-Exchange
product which digitises a core component
of the buying journey and we are developing functionality to
enable consumers to reserve a
car with a retailer on Auto Trader and to complete finance
agreements online.
------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------
6. As a digital business, we are reliant on our IT We continue to make significant progress in migrating our
IT systems infrastructure to continue to operate. applications to the cloud, which
and cyber increases the resilience of our systems and the security of our
security Any significant downtime of our systems would result in an data. Our aim is to get all
interruption to the services we applications migrated to the cloud in the next year.
provide.
During the year we carried out a review of the impact of remote
A significant data breach, whether as a result of our own working on our data security
failures or a malicious cyber attack, risks and implemented new solutions to mitigate these risks.
would lead to a loss in confidence by the public, car
retailers and advertisers. As we move further along the digital retailing journey, our
exposure to a cyber attack and
This could result in reputational damage, loss of audience, the impact of a breach will increase.
loss of revenue and potential
financial losses in the form of penalties. The constantly evolving threat of a cyber attack means that
overall the risk level is unchanged.
------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------
7. Our continued success requires us to attract, recruit, Despite the challenges posed by remote working, employee
Employees motivate and retain our highly skilled engagement has increased, with 93%
workforce, with a particular focus on specialist of employees completing our engagement survey saying they are
technological and data skills whilst also proud to work at Auto Trader.
ensuring that we continue to build a diverse and inclusive Our Glassdoor rating based on anonymous reviews is 4.4 out of 5.
culture. Failure to do so could
result in a reduction in employee engagement and the loss We continued to focus on investing in the personal and
of key talent, and could also have professional development of our colleagues
a negative impact on business performance. during the year, and adapted our induction, learning and
development programmes to be delivered
virtually. We launched two new talent programmes; one focusing
on Inclusive Leadership for
all leaders across our organisation and the second a Diverse
Talent Accelerator programme
designed to support the progression of mid-career colleagues.
As described above in (1), COVID-19 had the potential to
adversely impact our people and our
culture. However, through the actions taken, this risk has been
mitigated and therefore overall,
this risk remains unchanged.
------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------
8. We rely on third parties with regard to technology We have improved our risk monitoring processes over critical and
Reliance on infrastructure, supply of data about vehicles material suppliers and partners,
third and their financing, and in the fulfilment of some of our and despite the risks posed by the pandemic, we have not
parties revenue generating products, so experienced any material disruptions.
it is important that we manage relationships with, and
performance of, key suppliers. If these During the year, we have partnered with Cox Automotive to
suppliers were to suffer significant downtime or fail, this provide a disposal route for our
could lead to a loss of revenue Guaranteed Part-Exchange product.
from retailer customers and a loss of audience due to
impaired consumer experience. With the acquisition of AutoConvert, we have secured ownership
of the platform which will
underpin our online finance applications journey.
Overall on balance this risk remains unchanged.
------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------
9. Response Risks associated with climate change are emerging as a The UK Government brought forward the ban on the sale of new
to climate major factor affecting the long-term petrol and diesel cars to 2030
change resilience of our businesses and could impact the execution which is likely to result in consumer and societal expectations
of our strategy. Regulatory change for low carbon transport increasing
and environmental concerns from car buyers could at a faster pace. A move to EVs could mean that OEMs shift more
significantly impact the automotive market, quickly to a business model
with demand shifting away from internal combustion engine of selling direct to consumers and as the second hand market
('ICE') vehicles towards electric steadily moves towards newer
vehicles ('EV'). These changes present a risk to the electric models, our customers will have to evolve their
continuing relevance of both our existing forecourt mix accordingly. The speed
customer base and car buyers, if we do not adapt for these at which this change takes place will also dictate whether there
changing preferences. is an impact on the residual
value of ICE vehicles being held by our customers. The growing
Failure to appropriately demonstrate that as a business we penetration of electric vehicles
are committed and moving towards and the continued advancement of technology has the potential to
net zero carbon emissions could negatively impact our brand change the future of vehicle
and also impact our ability to ownership, with the possibility that people pay for short-term
operate and/or remain relevant to our customers and access to cars as and when
consumers. Failure to deliver against they need them, including through subscription deals and
our environmental commitments would undermine our car-sharing apps.
reputation as a responsible business and
may result in legal exposure or regulatory sanctions. We
are at risk of new policies that
seek to mitigate climate change or promote climate change
adaptation, all the more so now
that governments are starting to legislate for net zero by
2050.
------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------
10. The Group operates in a constantly changing and complex Our strategic focus area to bring more of the car buying journey
Regulatory regulatory environment. There is a online has the potential
and risk that the Group, or its subsidiaries, fail to comply to increase the Group's exposure to regulatory risks, in
compliance with these requirements or to respond particular the nature and extent
to changes in regulations, including GDPR and the Financial of personal information that will be collected and in the
Conduct Authority's rules and execution of the online finance
guidance. This could lead to reputational damage, financial application journey.
or criminal penalties and impact
on our ability to do business.
------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------
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