Auction Technology ups outlook as hails cash flow; adjusted profit up
Auction Technology Group PLC on Thursday announced higher adjusted pretax profit amid a jump in interim revenue as it upgraded its annual outlook for revenue at constant currency.
The London-based auction market operator reported a pretax loss of $600,000 for the six months to March 31, compared to a pretax profit of $8.9 million a year ago.
Adjusted pretax profit however jumped 52% to $30.9 million from $20.3 million, as the firm cited exceptional costs and a higher share-based payment expense.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation climbed 11% to $42.7 million from $38.5 million.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share improved by 4.7% to 19.9 US cents from 19.0c.
Revenue rose 42% to $126.1 million from $89.0 million.
Auction Technology said: ‘We improved demand and discovery through search and ranking optimisation, used artificial intelligence generated similar item recommendations, improved cross-marketplace exposure and retargeting as well as saved search and alert optimisation. We further reduced friction through simplifying the bidder journey and onboarding process.’
Notably, adjusted free cash flow surged 87% to $26.5 million from $14.2 million.
Chief Executive Officer Duncan Painter said: ‘I am delighted to join ATG. The company is well positioned and performing well with strong first half financials. There is still significant progress to be made, and our focus is to accelerate and deliver upon our potential in the second half and over the medium term.
‘For FY26, having delivered a positive start to the year driven by Arts & Antiques momentum, we are pleased to modestly upgrade our guidance. We expect another period of strong free cash flow generation. Our financial performance provides a strong foundation to reach our full potential.’
Looking ahead to the current financial year ending September 30, the company said it expects revenue growth of 5% to 6% at constant currency and pro forma for the consolidation of Chairish, revised up from previous guidance of 4% to 5%.
Auction Technology said trading in April was consistent with expectations for the year as a whole.
Auction Technology shares rose 13% to 398.60 pence each on Thursday morning in London.
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