- REA (REA) enjoys a 13 per cent rise in revenue year over year to $928 million, without the influence of recent acquisitions, revenue rose by 11 per cent
- The reported net profit climbed to $313 million, due to one-time effects in both quarters
- The group has decided to pay a final dividend of 72 cents per fully franked share
- Australian operations, which includes market leader realestate.com.au, saw revenue grew by 13 per cent
- Shares in REA were down 5.02 per cent to sit at $158.89 at 12:00 pm AEST
REA (REA) has enjoyed a 13 per cent rise in revenue year over year to $928 million and a 19 per cent increase in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) including associates to $565 million.
The reported net profit climbed to $313 million, due to one-time effects in both quarters.
Without the influence of acquisitions, revenue rose by 11 per cent, EBITDA including associates increased by 21 per cent, and NPAT increased by 24 per cent for the year.
The group has had a busy financial year: in July it completed its transaction of Mortgage Choice, acquired a 34 per cent interest in Simpology in June, sold its Malaysia and Thailand entities to PropertyGuru in exchange for an 18 per cent interest in May and acquired Elara Technologies in January.
The group’s Australian operations, which includes market leader realestate.com.au, saw revenue grew by 13 per cent to $870 million, with listings in FY21 up 15 per cent.
Average monthly visits to realestate.com.au topped 121.9 million, outperforming the closest competitor by 3.3 times on average.
Revenue from its Asia arm declined by 16 per cent in FY21, with the company saying COVID lockdowns and cancellation of events across all markets and the one-off COVID related reduction in syndicated MyFun listings in H1.
EBITDA before associates and joint ventures was $10 million.
In North America where REA group has a 20 per cent investment in Move, operator of realtor.com, the company enjoyed positive cashflows, improving from a $7 million loss to a $16 million gain in FY21.
Closer to home in India, REA moved to a controlling position in Elara Technologies, and despite COVID ravaging the country, revenue for the group grew 92 per cent year-on-year on the back of strong take-up of online real estate services.
REA said despite COVID causing a volatile market, it still intends to invest in the area throughout FY22.
The group’s first-half FY21 results included a $2 million equity-accounted loss from its 13.5 per cent investment in Elara.
Elara was merged by REA on January 1, 2021, resulting in sales of $17 million in H2 FY21 and an EBITDA loss of $18 million.
As of June 30, 2021, REA Group has a debt of $414 million and a cash balance of $169 million.
The group refinanced its syndicated debt facilities in June 2021 and used a $520 million bridging loan with NAB to support the Mortgage Choice purchase.
The bridge facility will mature in July 2022, although REA plans to replace it with a new syndicated facility in the first quarter of FY22.
The group has decided to pay a final dividend of 72 cents per fully franked share.
This, along with the interim dividend declared in February, results in a total payout of 131 cents per share for the fiscal year 2021, a 19 per cent increase over the previous year.
REA CEO Owen Wilson said REA is entering the new financial year with strong momentum, despite ongoing lockdowns.
“This momentum, coupled with our strategic investments and exciting product
roadmap, provides an excellent platform for our continued growth.”
Shares in REA were down 5.02 per cent to sit at $158.89 at 12:00 pm AEST.