BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - The online used car dealer Auto1 has once again improved its earnings outlook following a surprising profit in its day-to-day business in the third quarter. Because the Berlin-based company already made a small profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and special items in the months of July to September instead of in the fourth quarter as planned, CEO Christian Bertermann now sees a slightly smaller loss for the year than previously calculated. The operating loss is still expected to be in the range of 39 to 49 million euros, as the company announced on Wednesday. Previously, a loss of 50 to 70 million euros was expected.

According to information released on Wednesday, Auto1 benefited from a significantly higher gross profit per car in the third quarter - i.e. what remains of the sales price after acquisition costs. This gross profit climbed year-on-year from 755 euros to 952 euros per vehicle. However, due to the sluggish market, Auto1 had to accept a further significant drop in sales, which amounted to 140,630 cars in the quarter, 14 percent less than a year earlier. As a result, turnover fell by around a quarter to 1.29 billion euros. The bottom line was a net loss of 17.6 million euros - a year ago, this had still amounted to 55.1 million euros./men/stk