Major recovery for WeBuyCars

WeBuyCars expects an over 100% increase in its earnings per share, one year after listing on the JSE.

In a trading statement for the six months ended 31 March 2025, WeBuyCars said that basic earnings will increase by more than 100% from a loss of R69 million to a gain of between R505.3 million and R508.8 million.

Headline earnings should rise by over 100% from a loss of R69.5 million to a gain of between R506.5 million and R510.0 million.

The group added that core headline earnings, its main way of measuring the business’s performance, increased by between 24% and 28% to between R500.2 million and R516.3 million.

Core headline earnings are a non-IFRS measure that excludes gains/losses, costs, and adjustments relating to investment acquisitions and disposals; once-off transaction costs are directly attributable to corporate activity.

The financial metric includes non-cash accounting adjustments to the call option derivative asset relating to non-controlling interests.

The group noted that the over 83 million new shares issued on 29 February 2024, 27 March 2024, and 11 April 2024 had an unfavourable impact on the core headline, basic, and headline earnings per share.

These new shares were issued under the group’s pre-listing phase, which shareholders approved before Webuycars’ listing on the JSE’s Main Board on 11 April 2024.

The group noted no basic earnings per share of headline earnings per share adjustments in the six months ended 31 March 2025.

That said, the following non-core, once-off transaction costs and non-cash call option derivative accounting adjustments impacted basic and headline earnings per share for the previous period: 

1. Pursuant to its successful listing on the JSE’s Main Board, the Company incurred a one-off professional, legal, and JSE listing fees totalling R45.0 million.
2. The call option derivative asset of R426.5 million (as at 30 September 2023) relating to the pre-listing call options on the founders’ 25.1% shareholding in the group was derecognised on 25 March 2024. This fair value loss on derecognition of the call option derivative was once-off, non-core and had no cashflow impact.

The financial results for the six months ended 31 March 2025 should be published on SENS on Monday, 19 May 2025.