KE Holdings Q3 2024: Net Revenues Up 27% But EBITDA Down 14%

The Chinese real estate giant KE Holdings (Beike) has released its unaudited financial results for the third quarter of the year, with Chairman Stanley Yongdong Peng hopeful of a market recovery in China.

Highlights include:

• Q3 Net revenues increased by 26.8% to RMB22.6 billion (US$3.2 billion) year-on-year
• Net income fell slightly to US$161.5 million in Q3 2024, compared to US$167.2 million in Q3 2023
• Adjusted EBITDA fell 14% from US$347.1 million in Q3 2023 to US$297.3 million in Q3 2024
• Net revenues from new home transaction services increased by 30.9% to RMB7.7 billion (US$1.1 billion) YoY
• Net revenues from existing home transaction services were flat at RMB6.2 billion (US$0.9 billion)
• Net revenues from home renovation and furnishing increased by 32.6% to RMB4.2 billion (US$0.6 billion)
• Net revenues from home rental services more than doubled to RMB3.9 billion (US$0.6 billion), a 118% increase YoY

Mr. Stanley Yongdong Peng, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Beike, said:

"In the third quarter of 2024, we continued to demonstrate proactive and sustainable growth momentum. Against the backdrop of market adjustments, each of our business lines achieved solid results. In our housing transaction services, we are actively pursuing growth while also committed to fostering a more harmonious ecosystem.

"In our home renovation and furnishing and home rental services, we are also continuously strengthening our foundational capabilities across product development, process restructuring, and supply chain improvements. Meanwhile, we have officially upgraded our management governance framework, adopting a mechanism of clear responsibilities and collective leadership to deliberate and plan key strategies and matters, ensuring steady and sustainable growth for the Company.”

"In October, transaction volumes on our platform rebounded significantly, signaling the start of the market recovery. With an improving external environment, we will stay true to our long-term vision, remaining optimistic, persistent, and united as we move toward a brighter future."

As one of the most interesting real estate businesses in the world, Beike is well worth a visual breakdown of its complex operations, including continued growth for the Home Renovations and Furnishing segment:

Meanwhile, after years of disruption to China's economy, Beike will be delighted to see operational metrics including the number of agents and web visits enjoy healthy growth from last year, namely circa 50,000 agents joining the platform since Q3 2023:

The final question is, can arguably the world's biggest real estate platform continue its full-year recoveries since 2021? If Peng's assertion that a market recovery is on the cards, Beike may well return to the heights of the likes of CoStar Group in the United States and Rightmove in the United Kingdom.