Auto Trader’s revenue revved up in the first half as their extensive partnership base helped raise sales.

Average revenue per retailer rose to £205 to £2,404 while the number of forecourts rose to 2% to 14,161.

The forecourt strength was dampened slightly by lower activity on their digital platforms by car buyers which fell 10% to 67.7 million per month in the first half of the 2023 FY1. Visitor minutes were also down.

Nonetheless, Auto Trader revenue for the period rose 16% to £249.8m.

There was a warning of uncertainty but Auto Trader pointed to the less cyclical nature of second hand cars as a reason to be positive.

“Auto Trader is accelerating into the second half with excellent momentum. Performance in the first half saw revenues and profits come in better than expected, which is a function of Auto Trader’s enviable recurring revenue, strong pricing power and highly profitable model,” said Sophie Lund-Yates, Equity Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Running a website doesn’t cost a lot, after all. Underlying operating margins north of 70%, with strong conviction that these can be maintained, are an asset very hard to find in the current environment.”

Belluscura shares jumped on Thursday morning after the portable oxygen manufacturer said they could now target additional markets after securing ISO 13485 certification.

The certification of their portable oxygen enrichment technology is a recognition of the high-quality standard of Belluscura’s units and allow them to be distributed in the European under the CE mark and the UK using the CA mark.

Receiving the certification enables them to distribute global and effectively double the size of their target market. The US currently accounts for around 45% of global demand.

Belluscura shares were 3.5% higher at 58.5p at the time of writing.

“This is a hugely significant step for the Group, as ISO 13485 certification will enable the company to begin the process to start distributing its products globally. Our existing market in the US represents approximately 45% of the Portable Oxygen Concentrator market, so this certification more than doubles the available market opportunity for the Group,” said Robert Rauker, CEO of Belluscura.

“The certification shows the dedication of our team to not only developing a quality product, but to being a leading manufacturer of portable oxygen concentrators. Compliance with this standard will enable Belluscura’s commercial development by proving to new customers that the Company adheres to the highest standards of quality management excellence.

“It will, therefore, contribute to our growth as we expand production of our X-PLOR® device and the Nomad Biometric™ App, as well as the DISCOV-R™, which we expect to launch in Q1 2023 as the world’s first ambulatory dual flow portable oxygen concentrator.”  

Taylor Wimpey followed in Persimmon’s footsteps on Wednesday in releasing a trading statement punctuated by falling sales rates and deterioration in key metrics.

Anyone that read our summary of Persimmon’s update yesterday may feel elements of Taylor Wimpey’s release have been copy and pasted over.

Taylor Wimpey net private sales rates per outlet fell to 0.74 year-to-date from 0.95 in 2021 while the sales rate sank to 0.51 in the most recent half year.

Cancellation rates rose and the number of homes in their order book fell.

Despite the worrying metrics, Taylor Wimpey shares were marginally positive on Wednesday morning after suffering on Tuesday in sympathy with Persimmon’s update.

“In a challenging economic and political backdrop we are performing well and are on track to deliver full year operating profit* in line with market expectations,” said Jennie Daly, CEO at Taylor Wimpey.

“While sales rates have been impacted by wider economic uncertainty, we continue to see good levels of customer interest in our homes and a desire to get onto or move up the housing ladder.”

The desire to move up the house ladder may well be there, but the ability for homeowners to do so is diminishing. Rising mortgage rates is putting pressure on affordability at a time householders are facing soaring energy bills.

Despite the short term concerns at Taylor Wimpey, the long terms their fundamentals are supportive. Notwithstanding the challenging environment this winter, Taylor Wimpey has a solid landbank and the long term shortage of UK housing will ensure demand long into the future.

The FTSE 100 moved tentatively to the downside as investors digested results of the US midterm elections and enthusiasm around oil and China subsided.

US election results were still coming in at lunchtime on Wednesday with the chances of a big win for Republicans looking unlikely. If Biden loses either the House or Senate, it will make it extremely difficult to push his agenda through and render him powerless.

“The red wave promised overnight turned out to be more of a pinkish swell with the result of crucial midterm elections still in the balance as trading began in the UK on Wednesday morning,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“Amid the uncertainty the FTSE 100 was modestly lower. A continuing slide in oil prices, as initial excitement about a reopening of the Chinese economy has waned, helping to put energy stocks under continued pressure.”

Shell and BP were down 1.5% and 0.2% respectively dragging on the index.

Mould went on to highlight it is not what is happening today, but what might happen tomorrow with US inflation, as the biggest driver of markets on Wednesday.

“What might have greater impact on markets than the latest political ructions across the Atlantic are the inflation figures due out in the US tomorrow as traders play their usual game of trying to guess when the Fed might finally pivot away from rate rises,” said Mould.

The economic conditions and cost of living crisis has claimed a notable scalp in Made.com who today entered administration, only for Next to step in and buy the assets and IP for £3.4m.

As Warren Buffet said, “it’s only when the tide goes out that you learn who has been swimming naked.”

This is unfortunately true of Made.com. The company were racking up losses as orders fell and payables mounted. An attempt to find a buyer for the business failed and the company was forced to suspend shares and call in the administrators.

Next had been widely expected to buy Made.com and have executed a deft swoop on the assets.

“The deal shows that there was nothing wrong with the proposition as such, just the way the business was run,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“As Made.com CEO Nicola Thompson observed in a candid statement that the company could not survive in a world where there wasn’t stable demand, low inflation, and a cost-efficient global supply chain.”

“Next has the scale, experience and retail savvy to adapt to changing economic circumstances and it has done so successfully in the past, suggesting it can turn Made.com into a successful and lucrative brand.”