Auction Technology Group PLC has released its unaudited financial results for the six months ended 31 March 2024. The company has changed its presentational currency to US dollars for FY24 and subsequent financial periods. The financial highlights include a 6% increase in revenue to $86.0m, driven by strong growth in value-added services, event fees, and the contribution from EstateSales.Net. Adjusted EBITDA was $35.7m, down 6%, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 42%, down 5ppt. Operating profit decreased by 11% to $10.5m, primarily due to the change in revenue mix and phasing of costs through the year.
The adjusted diluted earnings per share were 16.6c, down 14%, while basic earnings per share were 5.3c compared to 11.6c. The company reported strong adjusted free cash flow generation of $27.7m, offset by the timing of payments, resulting in a closing adjusted net debt of $141.6m. Operational highlights include a 44% increase in revenue from value-added services, with atgPay, atgShip, and atgAMP contributing significantly. The Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) was $1.9bn, down 17% year-on-year, impacted by various factors, including the normalization of used Industrial & Commercial asset prices and weaker end markets in Art & Antiques.
John-Paul Savant, Chief Executive Officer of Auction Technology Group plc, expressed confidence in the company's strategic programs and revenue acceleration in the second half of FY24. The company is maintaining its full-year outlook for Group revenue to be in the range of $175m-$180m, implying a mid-point growth rate of 7%, including organic revenue growth of 2% - 5%. The outlook is driven by continued strong growth from strategic programs, including atgXL, atgShip, and atgPay, and improving GMV momentum on the Proxibid platform.