CAR GROUP LIMITED — Earnings Release 2013

Feb 12, 2013

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MEDIA RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Carsales Delivers Record Half Year Results

February 13, 2013

carsales.com Limited (ASX: CRZ) today announced its financial results for the first half of the 2013 financial year (H1 FY2013).

For the period, the company reported a total operating revenue of $102.1 million, up 17 per cent compared to the same period in FY2012. Net profit after tax (NPAT) was $37.6 million which represents an increase of 14 per cent compared to the same period in FY2012.

carsales.com Ltd’s EBITDA margin of 53 per cent was slightly lower than the previous comparative period. This is as a result of the increase in marketing expenditure flagged at the company's October Annual General Meeting.

carsales.com Ltd’s Board of Directors has declared a fully franked interim dividend of 12.7 cents per share (H1 FY2012, 11.3 cents per share) to be paid on April 10, 2013. The record date for the dividend payment is March 27, 2013.

In relation to the expected performance of the company in the second half of the 2013 financial year, the company expects H2 FY2013 revenue and EBITDA to be well ahead of H2 FY2012. As such, it is anticipated that both revenue and EBITDA will be higher than H1 FY2013.

RESULTS OVERVIEW

	$A	Millions		Growth
	H1	H1
Half Year Ending 31 December 2012	FY2012	FY2013	**$'s **	%
Operating Revenue(Excluding Interest Revenue)
Online Advertising	77.0	89.6	12.6	16%
Data &Research	10.4	12.5	2.1	20%
Total Operating Revenue	87.4	102.1	14.7	17%
Operating Expenses(Before Interest and D&A)	39.1	48.2	9.1	23%
EBITDA	48.3	53.9	5.6	12%
EBITDA Margin	55%	53%
D&A	2.0	1.3	(0.7)	(35%)
EBIT	46.3	52.6	6.3	14%
Net Interest Expense	(0.7)	(0.7)	0.0	-%
Profit Before Tax	47.0	53.3	6.3	13%
IncomeTax Expense	13.9	15.7	1.8	13%
**Net Profit After Tax **	33.1	37.6	4.5	14%
Earnings Per Share (cents)	14.1	16.0	1.9	14%
DividendPerShare (cents)	11.3	12.7
Net Operating Cashflow (Before Capex)	29.7	36.7	7.0	24%
Capex	4.2	0.7	(3.5)	(83%)

carsales.com Ltd CEO and Managing Director, Greg Roebuck said the H1 financial results were pleasing, with all parts of the business performing well.

"carsales.com Ltd's operations performed well across the board. The record result is a measure of this performance as a whole," Mr Roebuck commented.

"Our core automotive properties continued their strong performances through the last six months of 2012. Overall automotive enquiry was up, and in what was a record year for new car registrations, our display advertising division MediaMotive continued to lead the marketplace in terms of both innovation and sales performance," he said.

According to Mr Roebuck, carsales.com Ltd's Operational and Strategic Highlights during H1 FY2013 included:

• Continued display advertising growth -- up 28% year on year.

• Significant new car enquiry volume growth -- up 35% year on year.

• Strong overall automotive enquiry volumes -- up ~9% year on year.

• Increased private seller revenue -- up 7% year on year.

• Strong growth of Dealer and Data Services.

• Continued investment in general classifieds marketplace rewarded with good growth in quicksales operational metrics

Mr Roebuck commented on the continued growth of carsales.com Ltd's audience.

"In an arena that saw significant increases in marketing efforts from major competitive media, our sites have continued to outperform their opposition. By every measure carsales.com.au remains the clear number one." he said.

Mr Roebuck stated carsales.com Ltd continued to demonstrate high levels of innovation. He nominated commitment to innovation as a key strength of the company.

"We have continued to roll out key developments across our network of sites, on both desktop and mobile platforms to continue to enhance our consumer and business-to-business offerings.

"Desktop innovation is still important but new mobile solutions are also key."

Mr Roebuck also noted the strong operational performance of carsales.com Ltd's general classifieds venture, quicksales.com.au.

"We are committed to building a strong presence in the general classifieds space," he stated.

"Our investment in the general classifieds marketplace via the re-launched quicksales.com.au desktop site and new mobile offerings is a work in progress, but has already yielded good growth in important operational metrics.

"This space is dominated by overseas-owned multinational operations but we are keen to deliver a truly Australian alternative," he commented.

"General classifieds is a space that will benefit from carsales.com Ltd's experience in delivering safe and stable online platforms. There are also mobile lessons we've learned in the automotive marketplace that we can transfer to the general classifieds part of our business," Mr Roebuck stated.

Greg Roebuck CEO and Managing Director carsales.com Ltd 03 9093 8667