PropertyGuru Loses S$7.4m in Q3 Despite 47% Revenue Boost

The Southeast Asian real estate portal operator PropertyGuru Group has released its results for the three months that ended September 30th. Some of the numbers that stand out from the company's performance over the quarter include:

• Revenue of S$34.6 million representing a 47% increase compared to Q3 2021.
• Net loss stood at S$7.4 million, an improvement on the $S9.6 million loss in Q3 2021 but a reversal of the S$3.8m profit in Q2.
• Vietnam revenue grew 161% to S$6.2m.

PropertyGuru operates leading real estate portals across Southeast Asia. It is the clear market leader in its native Singapore, where it claims to have more than 5x the market share of the closest competitor. The group is also the leader in Malaysia where it operates both the PropertyGuru and iProperty verticals, in Vietnam through Batdongsan.com and in Thailand through DDproperty.com. In Indonesia, PropertyGuru operates the #2 vertical Rumah.com.

PropertyGuru saw a 27% year-on-year increase in quarterly revenue in its key market of Singapore where the number of the portal's agent customers increased from 15,023 to 15,351.

The real success story of the quarter was Vietnam where revenue rose significantly as the local economy expanded after the end of Covid related restrictions.

Speaking about the company's performance in the third quarter, Group CFO, Joe Dische said:

"In the third quarter, PropertyGuru delivered another strong quarter of results, with revenues continuing their growth trajectory, up 47% year-over-year, while expense-related diligence helped deliver improved Adjusted EBITDA. We remain encouraged by our market penetration as we enter the final quarter of 2022, although we understand that near-term market headwinds resulting from global inflationary pressures and subsequent governmental counteractions will need to be closely monitored.

While we are confident in the long-term fundamentals of our business and the growth potential that it offers, we understand that the current environment requires us to be especially diligent in the way we currently operate our business on a day-to-day basis.”

Significantly, PropertyGuru made its first post-IPO acquisition during Q3. The purchase of Singapore-based home renovation and maintenance marketplace Sendhelper for an undisclosed amount last month rounds out the company's offering in its home market and is expected to have a 'material effect' on 2022 financial results.

PropertyGuru's financial and data play still in investment phase

When it floated on the Nasdaq stock exchange in March PropertyGuru put a lot of emphasis on the potential of its financial services and data offering. The group has already invested heavily in this area and continues to do so with the segment once again growing revenues 27% but seeing Adjusted EBITDA loss double year on year to S$1.9m.

Although the quarterly profits of $-0.05 were well below investor consensus of around $0.02 earnings per share, the company's share price has not suffered unduly as a result. Although down around 50% from January highs of $10.1 per share, PrpertyGuru is currently trading at $5.15 having risen around 17% in the last month.

Credit: Google Finance