Auto Trader Annual Report 2020

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCESupporting our partners and suppliersOur product and technology teams have been workingthroughout the lockdown period to continually develop andinnovate products alongside our partners. Whilst we arestrong believers that software is best built in an environmentwhen people are together and able to effortlessly collaborate,our product and technology teams continue to deliver around640 releases a week; only marginally lower than those levelsachieved in pre-COVID-19 times, which is a huge credit to theteams involved.We recognise that many of our suppliers are facingchallenging times. Therefore we have continued to payour suppliers as we normally would and have not delayedany payments unless agreed with the individual supplierin advance of payment falling due.Controlling costsThroughout the period that our retailer customers wereclosed and our core services were free, we made theresponsible decision to reduce costs.Our largest expense relates to our people. The level of activityfor some of our teams reduced through the lockdown periodand so we used the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme(‘CJRS’) and furloughed just over 25% of our employees. Forthose who were placed on furlough, we supplemented thelevel of support provided by the Government, such that thelarge majority remained fully paid.FINANCIAL STATEMENTSThe RCF has covenants attached to it relating to debtcover and interest cover which are tested twice a yearand look at a 12 month rolling period: The Net bank debt to Consolidated EBITDA ratio mustnot exceed 3.5:1. At 31 March 2020 this ratio was 1:1. The Consolidated EBITDA to Net Interest Payable ratio mustnot be less than 3:1. At 31 March 2020 this ratio was 41:1.Equity placingOn 1 April 2020 we raised 183.2m net of fees throughan equity placing. The number of shares placed was46.5 million, compared to the 84.8 million shares boughtsince we initiated our share buyback programme in 2016.The equity placing has enabled us to run the Groupthrough the crisis in the long-term interests of ourshareholders, customers and people and, in the face ofhuge uncertainty, provides an insurance policy againsta protracted lockdown or series of lockdowns.The raise also ensures that the Group avoids constraintsthat might otherwise be imposed in the medium term inorder to take advantage of strategic opportunities whilststill meeting debt covenants. It should also allow us anearly return to our previous capital return policy at a timewhen many other companies may be labouring underincreased levels of indebtedness as a result of theCOVID-19 crisis.Towards the end of May 2020, when we had some level ofconfidence in our ability to return to charging and movingfrom a position of loss to making profit, our people returnedto work and we ended the reliance on this Governmentsupport. The Government support was taken at a time whenthe Group faced great uncertainty. As the crisis passes it isthe intention of the Group to repay amounts claimed throughthe CJRS. We have not made any redundancies as a resultof the crisis.Other measures to conserve cashIn order to conserve cash we have taken a number ofmeasures including:Our Executive Directors have foregone 50% of their salaryduring this period of uncertainty and have agreed toforego annual bonuses earned in relation to the yearended 31 March 2020. The remainder of the Board havewaived their fees by 50% or more for the duration of thiscrisis. With a return to higher levels of revenue, salariesand fees will return to normal levels in July 2020.Impact on the financial year ended 31 March 2020Our discretionary spend, which is primarily for marketing ourown brand and products, has been significantly reducedthrough this period.Strengthening the balance sheetSecuring finance sourcesWe entered the crisis with a strong balance sheet. At31 March 2020, Net bank debt (defined as Net debt beforeamortised debt fees and excluding accrued interest andamounts owed under lease arrangements) was 275.4m.The Group had 37.6m of cash and cash equivalents and 313.0m of gross debt drawn under the Group’s revolvingcredit facility (‘RCF’). The RCF has total commitments of 400.0m and is available until at least June 2023. Suspending our share buyback programme (year ended31 March 2020: 62.0m inclusive of costs). Suspending dividend payments (year ended 31 March2020: 64.7m). Deferring VAT payments ( 18.4m as at June 2020).On 17 March 2020, social distancing measures relating toCOVID-19 came into effect. As a result, some of the Group’srevenue lines were adversely affected. Home Trader andConsumer Services revenue suffered a significant drop offin volumes after these measures were implemented, andManufacturer and Agency display campaigns were alsoreduced. The impact on Retailer revenue in March 2020 waslimited, although a number of half price stock units wereconverted into free slots as we effectively re-instated ourstock offer. Costs remained largely unimpacted, howeverwe took a more prudent approach to the recoverabilityof receivables which resulted in an increased bad debtcharge. We also reduced marketing spend in March. Weestimate that the net effect was to reduce profit for themonth of March by approximately 3m.AUTO TRADER GROUP PLCAnnual Report and Financial Statements 20207

CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENTWe have a strong pipeline of new productsand services that we plan to introduce overthe coming years.While the impact of broader changes to theautomotive industry has yet to play out, we arecommitted to taking a leadership position tobring the benefits of new technologies to carretailers and the car buying public.People, culture, diversity and inclusionThe business and the Board are focusedon making Auto Trader a great place towork, a place that reflects the compositionof the community in which we work, anda place that offers all our employees theopportunity to realise their full potential.In many respects I have great pride in theprogress we have made in recent years,even though the numbers reported hereare disappointing. However, in otherrespects there remains much to be done.Let me highlight examples of each.ED WILLIAMSCHAIRMANThe business and the Board arefocused on making Auto Tradera great place to work, a placethat reflects the compositionof the community.As a Board, we take intoaccount the impact of ourdecisions on a wider groupof stakeholders.OverviewThe last 12 months have been a challengingperiod for our customers, with significantuncertainty in the automotive market, evenbefore the COVID-19 pandemic. Some ofthis uncertainty has arisen from Brexitfactors, some from regulation and somefrom the initial impact of what we believewill be significant environmental andtechnology-driven changes to theautomotive industry.In this context, it is a tribute to the businessand our people that Auto Trader has beenable to deliver the results set out here.The effects of COVID-19 were only feltsignificantly in the last two weeks of thefinancial year, although our accounts docontain more cautious provisions for baddebt than we have made in prior years.We have achieved these results while makingcontinued investments in our strategicpriority areas of new car, car finance andenabling greater efficiency in business-tobusiness used car transactions. Theseinvestments have continued even duringthe COVID-19 crisis with our technologyand product teams working from home.8AUTO TRADER GROUP PLCAnnual Report and Financial Statements 2020In the year of becoming Chairman, 37%of employees were women. Of all the joboffers we have made in the last year 43%have been to women. Only our high rateof staff retention holds us back fromachieving our goal of employing equalnumbers of women and men, a goal wehave achieved at the Board level for thefirst time this year.During the last year our gender paygap has widened. This is disappointing,though much of the cause is an unintendedconsequence of women representing a farhigher proportion of our new hires and alsothe departure of a senior woman who waspromoted to the post of CEO of our jointventure with Cox Automotive.An area where there is much to be doneis ensuring that members of the BAMEcommunity are able to contribute to alllevels of our business but especially atsenior levels and on the Board.EnvironmentFor the past few years, we have had a clearand focused ESG strategy, which we call‘Make a Difference’. This strategy, whichhas traditionally been employee-drivenand Board agreed, focuses on our people,our communities and how we do business.However, our strategy hasn’t reallyfocused much on the wider environment.To begin to address this we have begunto report our Scope 3 emissions and are inthe process of developing wider initiativesto ensure we play our part to safeguardour planet. One such initiative is helpingconsumers to make more environmentallyconscious vehicle decisions by improvingour onsite buying experience with morerelevant search filters and informationabout electric vehicles.

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSForemost among them is Nathan Coe,who became our new CEO on 1 March 2020.Nathan joined Auto Trader in 2007, makinghim the Board member with the longestservice at Auto Trader. He has played aleading role in many areas of the business,including in recent years as Chief OperatingOfficer and Chief Financial Officer. JamieWarner joined the Board on 1 March 2020as Chief Financial Officer. Jamie has beenwith the business since 2012, playing acentral role in preparing Auto Trader forbeing a public company, developing ourfinance function, as well as playing an activeoperational role across our business. It goeswithout saying that their first weeks haveseen huge challenges. Their performancehas vindicated the Board’s decision toappoint them and reflects the benefits ofmaking appointments of people with manyyears of experience within the business.ESG IN FOCUSStriving for greater gender balanceacross our organisationGender diversityAs at 31 March 2019As at 31 March 20204 44 42 24 4% of%womenof womenon theon theBoard:Board:33%33%% of%womenof womenon theon theBoard:Board:50%50%MenMen WomenWomen50%of women on the Boardas at 31 March 2020We strive to create genderparity across our business, andhave made some good progressacross the organisation. In theyear, we are pleased to reportthat we welcomed more womento Auto Trader; entering thebusiness in predominantlyearly career roles or acrossour technology cohorts.Sigga Sigurdardottir joined the Boardon 1 November 2019 as a Non-ExecutiveDirector. With Sigga’s appointment thisyear and that of Catherine Faiers, ourChief Operating Officer, in May 2019,half of our Board members are women.Women also now make up 50%of our Board, one of only sevenFTSE100 companies to havegender parity as at 31 March 2020.Board of Directors P62Basic EPS22.19p 6%Dividend and capital structureWe are not recommending a final dividend,bringing the total dividend for the year to2.4 pence per share, an interim dividendwhich was paid in January 2020.(2019: 21.00p)Our long-term capital allocation policy remainsunchanged. We aim to distribute around onethird of net income as dividends and use themajority of the remaining surplus cash to buyback shares, while also reducing debt.In June we returned to charging customers butcontinue to monitor the ongoing environmentaround COVID-19. Subject to that monitoring,we are hopeful of an early return to our capitalallocation policy with the declaration of aninterim dividend in November.Board changesTrevor Mather, our CEO, retired from theCompany and stepped down from theBoard on 29 February 2020. The Boardwould like to thank him for his hugecontribution to the business and wish himwell in retirement. We have devoted thefollowing two pages to a quantitativeand qualitative illustration of some of theachievements and the changes over hisseven years as CEO. Trevor would be thefirst to point out that these achievementsand changes are the result of the effort ofvery many people.GovernanceA new Corporate Governance Codeapplied to us for the first time this year.One of the main changes was abouthow we as a Board take into account theimpact of our decisions on a wider groupof stakeholders. For us, this was not just abox-ticking exercise as we have a genuinedesire to act in a responsible way and toconsider the wider implications of ouractions. This was brought to life in a veryreal way during the early stages of theCOVID-19 pandemic, when we made thedecisions outlined in the 'Assessing theimpact of COVID-19' section on pages 4to 7, to support our customers and thewider automotive industry. The situationalso required us to be as agile in ourgovernance arrangements as we arein all other aspects of our businesses,as we needed to make fast, decisiveactions in order to respond to therapidly changing environment.Annual General MeetingOur Annual General Meeting (‘AGM’) will beheld at 10:00am on Wednesday 16 September2020 at 4th Floor, 1 Tony Wilson Place,Manchester, M15 4FN. In light of the currentrestrictions over public gatherings due toCOVID-19, the AGM will be run as a closedmeeting. Myself and other Directors willjoin the meeting by telephone. We stronglyencourage all shareholders to cast their votesby proxy, and to send any questions in respectof AGM business to ir@autotrader.co.uk.Ed WilliamsChairman25 June 2020AUTO TRADER GROUP PLCAnnual Report and Financial Statements 20209

CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT CONTINUEDA look back at the key achievementsof our former CEO Trevor Mather.From privately ownedprint magazine.37.3mMonthly averagecross platform visits 218.9mRevenue 109.1mOperating profit25%Of women on the BoardEstablishing culture & values fitfor a leading digital businessEstablished a culture shaped by ourvalues, and one which is customercentric and data-driven with a focuson an agile approach to change – andimportantly underpinned by a diverseand inclusive workforce.Our valuesBe determinedBe reliableBe inspirationalBe humbleBe curious2013Having worked inthe business for overa decade, we wouldn'tbe where we aretoday without Trevor'sleadership. He can beparticularly proud of theunique and passionateculture and values he hasinstilled throughout alllevels of the business.EMPLOYEE SINCE 200920152014A fresh lookWe enjoyed enormous brandawareness but our logo wasageing by the day. We createda modern logo that’s stillrecognisably Auto Trader.New offices openWe created new workingareas by moving staff tostate-of-the-art offices incentral Manchester andKing’s Cross, London.The presses go quietThe last ever issue of themagazine is publishedin June 2013.10AUTO TRADER GROUP PLCAnnual Report and Financial Statements 20202016Successfully transitioningto the London Stock ExchangeOn 24 March, the London StockExchange welcomed Auto TraderGroup plc to open the market on thefirst day of dealings in the Company’sshares on the Main Market followingits successful IPO.

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSOn behalf of everyone at Auto Trader, I would like to acknowledgethe seven years of exceptional leadership of our outgoingChief Executive Officer Trevor Mather.As a fitting tribute, we take a look back at some of Trevor’s achievementsand the role he played in taking the Company from a chequered historyof private owners, to the independence and responsibility that goeswith being a leading digital FTSE100 business.to a leading digitalFTSE100 business50.8mMonthly averagecross platform visits 36% 368.9m97% CEO approvalrating on GlassdoorWith an overall Glassdoorcompany rating of 4.7/5,Culture and Values rating of4.7/5 and a very high 97% ofstaff saying they’d recommendthe Company to a friend, it'sclear that the culture of thebusiness was thriving.Revenue 69%2017Creating trust inthe marketplaceWe increased the levelof transparency in themarketplace by addingdealer reviews. We alsoused our view of the currentmarketplace to determineif the advertised price of acar represented a good ora great deal, and showedthis to consumers throughthe introduction of priceindicator flags. 258.9mRetail Acceleratori-Control became RetailAccelerator, our mostpowerful tool yet, whichhelps retailers managetheir forecourts usingunrivalled data and insight.Operating profit 137%50%Of women on the Board 100%201920182020Search by monthly paymentWe launched our search bymonthly payment product in2018 as more consumers werelooking to finance their nextvehicle. This gave consumersan easy way to find out whatthey could afford and retailersa way to advertise their ownfinance rates.Now fully digitalReaching 50.8m monthlyaverage cross platform visits.Evolving our values furtherEnsuring our valuesfully reflect our 'Make aDifference' strategic focus,we updated them in 2018 –changing 'inspirational' to'courageous' as well asadding 'community-minded'.Delivering our newcar propositionWe launched our brandnew car proposition, tomake us as synonymouswith new cars as weare with used.AUTO TRADER GROUP PLCAnnual Report and Financial Statements 202011

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S STATEMENTOur purpose and strategic focusOur purpose is to improve car buyingin the UK, whilst also evolving the widerautomotive ecosystem. At the heart of thisis empowering consumers to do as much ofthe purchasing process as they would likeonline, whilst enabling retailers to reduceinefficiencies and therefore costs. Weevolved our strategy two years ago to focuson making the ecosystem more efficientand whilst we have accomplished much ofwhat we set out, it has only made us realisehow much more there is to be done.NATHAN COECHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICEROur culture is shaped by our values.We constantly look at ways we canimprove and always put people atthe heart of everything we do.Revenue 368.9m 4%(2019: 355.1m)Operating profit 258.9m 6%(2019: 243.7m)OverviewI formally took on the Chief ExecutiveOfficer role on 1 March this year. We veryquickly found ourselves in perhaps themost challenging circumstances thatthe Company has ever faced due to theglobal COVID-19 pandemic. Our approachgenerally, and especially in a crisis, is toprepare for the worst and act decisivelyand quickly. This was made possible bythe people of Auto Trader. I could not beprouder of how our people have respondedto the COVID-19 crisis and supported bothour business and our customers everysingle step of the way. Having been withAuto Trader since 2007, it is a great privilegeto now lead

Auto Trader's platform sets the business up to leverage the scale of both Auto Trader and Cox Automotive. Strategic highlights Financial highlights Operational highlights Cross platform visits Monthly average visits spent across all platforms (millions) 50.8m 3% Revenue m 368.9m 4% Operating profit m 258.9m 6% Advert views