News

Online auction site targets retailers, smartphones

February 22, 2012

Trade Me, an online auction site, hopes to boost the sale of new goods by integrating retailers into its platform.

Trade Me is also targeting smartphone applications as a means to encourage consumer demand for its services, Mark Lister, head of private wealth research at Craigs Investment Partners, said in a story on nzherald.com.

"People find it more convenient to shop online and businesses can offer sharper prices if they do it that way," he said. "With the currency and retail rents where they are and those types of factors, there's going to be a continued shift from more traditional outlets to those models."

Trade Me shares were unchanged at $3.16 in trading today but have climbed 17 percent from their sale price of $2.70 in November.

The company reported earnings before interest and tax of $49.7 million in the six months ended December 31, beating the $48.6 million forecast in the prospectus for its initial public offering last November. Net profit was $356.4 million, or 9.19 cents per share, up from $34.6 million, or 8.75 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue grew 13 per cent to $70 million, beating the $69.6 million guidance in the prospectus.

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