AUTO1 Group reports strong Q3 revenue growth and makes significant progress towards profitability

The company is expanding its position as Europe’s largest used car trader and improved its adjusted EBITDA by 25% compared to Q2 2022 despite a challenging macroeconomic environment

Berlin, November 2 2022 – AUTO1 Group SE, Europe’s leading digital automotive platform for buying and selling used cars, today reported financial results for the third quarter of 2022, highlighting continued strong revenue growth, record market share, and significant progress towards profitability.

Financial highlights

• AUTO1 Group increased its European market share by 24% in Q3 YoY to 2.6% in the face of a challenging macroeconomic environment which saw used car transactions decline by 17%[1] in Europe
• AUTO1 Group Q3 2022 revenue up 35.8% YoY at EUR 1.71 billion, gross profit up 6.1% YoY to EUR 123.4 million
• AUTO1 Group’s retail business Autohero, the leading online-shop for used cars for consumers in Europe, more than quadrupled its gross profit to EUR 19 million, grew units sold by 52.5% YoY to 17,189 and revenue by 73.4% YoY to EUR 277.2 million
• Autohero GPU grew by EUR 741 YoY to reach EUR 1,106 in Q3 and became a meaningful contributor of total gross profit for the Group
• AUTO1 Group’s Merchant business AUTO1.com, the largest B2B trading platform for used cars in Europe, sold 146,372 units, generating revenue of EUR 1.43 billion, up 30.4% YoY
• AUTO1 Group improved Q3 adjusted EBITDA by EUR 12 million from Q2 to EUR -35 million, a major milestone on its path to achieving adjusted EBITDA profitability by Q4 2023
• AUTO1 Group remains well funded with EUR 627 million of cash and no corporate debt

Christian Bertermann, CEO and Co-founder of AUTO1 Group: “Q3 was a very successful quarter for us. We are proud of the significant improvement in our adjusted EBITDA, while also growing in both units and revenue. Our teams did an outstanding job navigating current industry headwinds, bringing us one step closer on our path of becoming the largest and most profitable car dealer in Europe. Our focus for 2023 will be to continue to deliver outstanding customer experiences, build market share in the retail and the merchant business and achieve positive adjusted EBITDA towards the end of the year.”

Progress towards in-housing Autohero used car production

AUTO1 Group continued to make significant progress on in-housing production centers for its Autohero retail business. Recently, the company increased its production capacity at its first production center in Hemau, Germany by 69% from 16,000 to 27,000 vehicles per year at full capacity. In addition, the company announced the opening of a new production center in the third quarter in Ath, Belgium (max. capacity of 18,500 cars per year). AUTO1 Group’s total internal production capacity now stands at 143,300 vehicles per year at full capacity. Bringing used car production in-house allows Autohero to fully control each step of the process and is an integral part of AUTO1 Group’s profitability strategy.

Third quarter business performance

AUTO1 Group increased the number of cars sold to 163,561 (Q3 2021: 156,530) and increased revenues by 35.8% YoY to EUR 1.71 billion (Q3 2021: EUR 1.26 billion), with gross profit up 6.1% YoY to EUR 123.4 million (Q3 2021: EUR 116.3 million).

AUTO1 Group’s Retail business Autohero significantly improved its gross profit per unit (GPU) while once again growing units and revenue strongly. The number of units sold via Autohero increased by 52.5% YoY to 17,189 units (Q3 2021: 11,275 units) while increasing revenue to EUR 277.2 million (Q3 2021: EUR 159.8 million). Compared to Q3 2021, Autohero improved its GPU by 202.8% YoY to EUR 1,106 (Q3 2021: EUR 365).

The Merchant segment AUTO1.com sold 146,372 vehicles to partner dealers, flat compared to Q3 2021 (145,255 units), strengthening its position as the key player in the European B2B used car market and gaining market share while European used car market transactions have decreased 17%[2] YoY to 6.2 million units in Q3. Merchant revenue increased to 1.43 billion, up 30.4% YoY.

AUTO1 Group improved its adjusted EBITDA by EUR 12 million from negative EUR 47 million in Q2 2022 to negative EUR 35 million in Q3 2022, putting it well on track to achieve its goal of adjusted EBITDA profitability by Q4 2023.

AUTO1 Group maintains strong liquidity with cash on balance of EUR 627 million and unutilized commitments under its inventory ABS of EUR 325 million.

Financial Outlook:

AUTO1 Group substantiated its revenue guidance for the full-year 2022 to between EUR 6.5 and 6.7 billion and its gross profit range to EUR 485-505 million. The adjusted EBITDA margin between -2.0% and -3.0% remains unchanged.

Key Performance Indicators

The Group’s detailed financial results for Q3 2022 can be found in the company’s quarterly results presentation in the Investor Relations section of the AUTO1 Group homepage.

About AUTO1 Group
 

Founded in 2012, AUTO1 Group is a multi-brand technology company that is building the best way to buy and sell cars online. Its local European consumer brands like wirkaufendeinauto.de offer consumers the fastest and easiest way to sell their car. Its merchant brand, AUTO1.com, is Europe's largest wholesale platform for car trading professionals. With its retail brand Autohero, AUTO1 Group is using its technology, scale and operational excellence to develop the best consumer experience to buy a car online. AUTO1 Group is operating in over 30 countries and achieved revenues of €4.78 billion in 2021. Following its successful IPO in February 2021, the group's shares are trading on the regulated market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the trading symbol AG1 and the ISIN DE000A2LQ884.

For more information please visit www.auto1-group.com

Investor Relations contact

Alexander Enge

Senior Manager Investor Relations

Phone: +49 (0)30 - 2016 38 213

Email: [email protected]

Media Relations contact

Christine Preyer

Director Communications & PR

Phone: +49 (0)175 64 59 192

Email: [email protected]

Forward Looking Statements

This publication contains forward-looking statements based on current views and assumptions of AUTO1 Group’s management and made to the best of such management’s knowledge. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause AUTO1 Group’s revenues, profitability or the degree to which it performs or achieves its targets to materially deviate from what is explicitly or implicitly stated or described in this publication. Therefore, persons who obtain possession of this publication should not rely on such forward-looking statements. AUTO1 Group accepts no guarantee or responsibility regarding forward-looking statements and will not adjust them to future results or developments.

^[1]Sources: official statistics website (open data + country), national car registration office statistics, statistics released by newspapers, estimations made by used car dealers

^[2]Sources: official statistics website (open data + country), national car registration office statistics, statistics released by newspapers, estimations made by used car dealers