SYDNEY–Carsales.com Ltd. said annual profit rose by 11%, but pandemic lockdowns in Australia are hurting its advertising business at the start of the financial year.
The vehicle classifieds business said net profit from continuing operations for the 12 months through June rose to 152.8 million Australian dollars ($112.6 million), from A$138.2 million in the previous fiscal year.
The cost of discounting and deferring dealer fees fell to A$11 million from about A$28 million in the prior year. Including those one-off items, net profit attributable to shareholders rose 14% to A$130.7 million.
Adjusted revenue rose 3.8% to A$438 million.
Carsales cut its dividend to 22.5 Australian cents, from 25 Australia ncents a year earlier, adjusting its payout for additional shares issued during the year to fund the purchase of a 49% stake in U.S. online marketplace Trader Interactive.
The results were in line with May’s guidance for revenue to rise by 3.0%-4.0% and net profit to rise by 8.0%-11%, adjusted for one-off items.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization rose 10% to A$254.2 million, in line with guidance for a 8.0%-10% lift.
The company said its fiscal 2022 performance would likely be weighted toward the second half as Australia’s latest Covid-19 lockdowns are weighing on sales-lead and private-ad volumes at the start of the fiscal year.
“If our experience is consistent with prior lockdowns, the business is well-placed to recover all or most of the declines once retail re-opens,” the company said.
On that basis, Carsales expects solid FY 2022 revenue, Ebitda and profit growth, on an adjusted basis. It said Australian dealer market conditions remained solid outside of lockdown-affected states and said private-listing volumes are growing outside of New South Wales state, which has been under Covid restrictions since late June.
Carsales anticipates solid FY 2022 revenue and Ebitda growth in South Korea and Brazil, excluding the impact of marketing investment in the former. It will update investors on the outlook for its U.S. holding at October’s annual general meeting.