Hemnet's Positive Q3 Fails to Rally Fluctuating Stock Price

Leading Swedish property portal Hemnet has released figures for its Q3 activities showing healthy growth in all metrics year-on-year. Highlights of Hemnet's performance for the July-September quarter included:

• Net sales increased 38% to SEK 195.8m
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 61.6% to SEK 102.3m (63.3)
• Operating profit increased 93.7% to SEK 82.7m (42.7)
• The number of listings increased 5.3% compared to last year
• ARPL, average revenue per listing, increased 53.7% to SEK 2,642 (1,719)

The company, which went public on the Swedish Nasdaq earlier in the year, has seen revenues grow since it introduced a new pricing structure with increased segmentation according to CEO Cecilia Beck-Fris:

"Revenue growth was mainly driven by our new pricing model for property sellers launched earlier in the year. I am also very pleased that an increasing number of customers chose to upgrade their listings to one of our enhanced packages"

"Revenue was also helped by property sellers advertising more properties on Hemnet, up 5.3 percent YoY"

The quarter also saw Hemnet improve the functionality of its site and the user experience within the user area as well as celebrate the Guldhemmet housing gala in person to recognise the achievements of the country's agents and developers. The portal was also recognised as one of Sweden's top media brands alongside the likes of Netflix and Spotify.

The portal operates a business model along Australian lines whereby vendors themselves rather than agents pay the portal directly for listing packages, a situation which the portal believes gives it a significant advantage in the market as vendors are more motivated to invest in marketing to maximise the sale price.

Despite today's positive announcement, the company's share price has not reflected the growth seen in its metrics. Since its debut on the market in April Hemnet's price has fluctuated greatly. The stock shot up 50% in a short period before reaching a high of SEK 250 at the beginning of June. In recent weeks Hemnet has been trading between SEK 170-190.