PropertyGuru Sees Positive Growth in Key Segments and is 'on track to achieve its full year guidance for 2022'

PropertyGuru has released its official financial results for 2021 including figures around profitability and segment performance. Highlights of the newly public Southeast Asian portal company's results include:

• Revenues of S$100.7 million (up 22.7% on the previous period)
• Singapore portal revenue of S$56 million (up 19.9%) and Malaysia S$14.7 million (up 86%)
• On track for 2022 guidance of 44% revenue growth and return to positive Adjusted EBITDA

PropertyGuru had previously released an interim version of its financials for 2021 back in February which had not included detailed segment performance or figures around profit and loss. The new missive released last Thursday reveals that the company's real estate portals are continuing to grow with the Singapore marketplace still contributing the lions share of revenue.

The Singapore business saw average revenue per agent of S$3,279 over the period with the total number of agents up by over 5% to 14,080 and a renewal rate of 82%. After the incorporation of REA Group's iProperty.com.my, the Malaysian business also saw a big growth in revenue during the period while the company's much-heralded Data & Fintech offering grow by around 180% and contributed 2.8% of revenue for the period.

The company, which operates real estate portals in its native Singapore as well as Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, went public via a SPAC merger having wooed investors with a plan to return to Adjusted EBITDA profitability by 2022 and ride the coattails of massive demographic tailwinds in the region.

As such it was very important that the first official set of results PropertyGuru released to the market painted the company in a positive light. Both PropertyGuru's MD & CEO and CFO were effusive in their assessments of the firm's 2021 operations and future outlook:

Hari V. Krishnan, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of PropertyGuru, said “2021 was a transformational year for us as we took definitive steps to position PropertyGuru for its next chapter of growth. In 2021, we completed our acquisition of iProperty Malaysia and thinkofliving to strengthen our positions in Malaysia and Thailand, welcomed REA Group as a strategic shareholder, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange via our business combination with Bridgetown 2.

“2021 results demonstrate our execution capability and the strong growth our investments in technology and talent can deliver, despite the uneven market recovery from pandemic-related lockdowns in our region. We are only beginning to scratch the surface of our US$8.1 billion[3] addressable market in the region, as Southeast Asia’s property market continues to expand driven by long-term fundamentals of urbanization, digitalization and a rising middle class. We are excited about the momentum we bring into 2022, and the prospects for the years ahead.”

Joe Dische, Chief Financial Officer of PropertyGuru, said “We are extremely pleased with our 2021 performance. Despite challenging property market conditions, we delivered over S$100 million in revenue and a better than forecast Adjusted EBITDA result.  We are pleased to confirm that we are on track to achieve our full year guidance for 2022, with expected year-on-year revenue growth of 44.0% and a return to full year positive Adjusted EBITDA. This outlook supports the confidence investors have placed in us through the last few years and during our recent public listing.”

Despite the broadly positive set of results, PropertyGuru's stock is still being affected by the market forces driving down the share prices of many of its publicly traded real estate marketplace and tech peers. Having begun life on the market trading at around $8.5, shares in PropertyGuru are currently down 27% at $6.1.

Credit: Google Finance