BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Online used car dealer Auto1 has also lowered its revenue target after reducing its sales forecast in early August. Due to lower average sales prices, revenue in the current year will be lower than in 2022, according to the annual report published in Berlin on Wednesday. Previously, Auto1 had expected earnings at the previous year's level of around 6.5 billion euros. For the experts surveyed by Bloomberg, however, the reduced sales forecast does not come as a surprise. Most recently, they had forecast average sales of just under 5.9 billion euros for the current year.

Auto1 had already reduced its sales forecast and confirmed its gross profit target at the beginning of August when it presented its key data for the first half of the year. In addition, the company became somewhat more optimistic with regard to the operating loss. The Group has not yet stated a specific sales target. The SDax-listed share has been under pressure since the announcement of the preliminary figures and the reduction in the sales forecast. Auto1's stock value has since plummeted by around a quarter to 1.6 billion euros.

Auto1 was one of the last spectacular Borsengangs in Germany. On the first day of trading in February 2021, the share price shot up by almost half compared with the issue price of 38 euros to just under 57 euros - but the stock never cost more than that again. The euphoria quickly fizzled out and the price plummeted to 5.41 euros in October 2022. By the end of July, however, the stock had managed to claw its way back up to the 10 euro mark, before the lowered sales target and the half-year figures caused prices to fall again./zb/mis