CANBERRA: REA Group’s first quarter revenue has jumped 21 per cent, prompted by growth for higher priced advertising products and strong property listing volumes. Revenue climbed to $146 million for the three months ended September 30, partly due to the popularity of top-tier listings products, the company said.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation — a key measure of profitability — from core operations gained 30 per cent to $82 million. The rate of growth in operating expenses lowered reflecting the different timing of some expenses compared with the prior year.
“This has been a strong first quarter for REA. We’ve seen growth in the Australian listings markets and we’ve continued to provide new and exciting ways for people to be in charge of how and when they buy, sell, rent or invest in property,” said REA chief executive Tracey Fellows.
It comes after Ms Fellows this week signalled the start of an ambitious global expansion by launching a $751 million takeover bid for Southeast Asia-focused rival iProperty.
REA owns a 22.7 per cent stake in ASX-listed iProperty, but is looking to purchase the remainder of the company that it does not already own in a $580m deal, valuing the target company at $751m. The company is leveraging off its considerable expertise around product, sales and technology to move into a new growth phase via fast-growing, attractive markets around the world.
“Our international markets are going from strength to strength,” Ms Fellows said. “In the US, realtor.com is now the number two site and the opportunity in Asia continues to grow as more and more people look online for property. The momentum in Europe around listings, audience and depth products has continued in the first quarter.”
REA reaffirmed its market leadership position in Australia, where the second-placed player, Fairfax Media’s Domain, lags significantly behind realestate.com.au on key usage and engagement metrics.
Average monthly visits increased 33 per cent to 42.7 million, according to Nielsen Online data. In the quarter ended September 30, consumers spent 257.3 million minutes a month on realestate.com.au’s main and mobile site, outperforming the average monthly time on Domain by 5.5 times.
