Domain Holdings (ASX: DHG) released it’s 2019 half-year results on Friday, with the portal reporting a net loss of $156.4 million for the six months to December 2018.
A non-cash goodwill write-down of $178.8 million drove the results into the red.
Excluding this, Domain reported:
- Revenue growth of 0.3 per cent to $183 million
- EBITDA of $52.7 million
- Net Profit of 21.1 million
- Earnings per share of 3.64 cents
- Commercial revenue growth of 20 per cent
- Consumer solutions revenue growth of 34 per cent
- An increased stake in Homepass, giving Domain control of the business to accelerate product development and integration.
CEO Jason Pellegrino, in his presentation to shareholders, said that in the context the current property market cyclicality, Domain had delivered a solid performance showing growth of average revenue per listing noting that residential listings continue to provide the largest (51 per cent) contribution to revenue.
“This is a solid result from Residential in the context of lower listings volumes in key markets where auction volumes declined 20 per cent in Sydney and 19 per cent in Melbourne.
Pellegrino also said that the group are excited by the merger of Fairfax and Nine and the considerable marketing and audience boost it would provide to the business.
In terms of the future directions for the group, Mr Pellegrino noted a structure of the business to focus on three objectives, to grow the core listings business, to grow revenue streams in consumer solutions (for example home loans, insurance and utilities) and by simplifying and optimising costs.
“We are confident in Domain’s long-term growth prospects and have a strategy in place to build on our solid foundation, scale and capability as we enter our next phase of growth,” said Mr Pellegrino.
Domain shares were up 21.05 per cent to close at $2.53 on Friday, while Nine’s shares dropped 7.2 per cent to $1.48.
REA Groups share price jumped 2.66 per cent to $78.02.
Full commentary on the Domain results can be found here.
