Domain shares jump on Greg Ellis appointment, HY profit boost
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More news: Domain shares rocketed at the start of trading after the real estate platform announced that former REA Group chief executive Greg Ellis had been appointed as its interim CEO, and reported a rise in first-half profit.
Domain shares were up 6.2% to $2.90 by 10:45am AEDT, having fallen around 15% since the turn of the year.
E&P analyst Entcho Raykovski noted that first-half revenue of $217.2 million fell short of consensus estimates of $220.5 million. However, EBITDA of $77.8 million beat average forecasts of $74.9 million.
What they said: "There are a lot of moving parts in the result and guidance, with a cost-driven beat, lower FY25 opex and listings guidance and the interim CEO appointment," Raykovski said.
"While the market may be slightly disappointed by the lower revenue and FY25 listings guidance, Greg Ellis is a good interim CEO appointment and full year costs will be lower – ultimately, we’d expect the stock to trade broadly in line with the market today."
Domain appoints Greg Ellis interim CEO, lifts profits
The news: Digital real estate platform Domain has appointed former REA Group boss Greg Ellis as its interim CEO, and posted a first-half profit lift, as the company maintains optimism on its efforts to boost listings growth.
The numbers: Domain posted a 28.3% increase in net profit attributable to members of the company to $33.1 million, compared to the $25.8 million reported the same period last year.
Domain booked a 7% revenue increase to $217.2 million for the first half of 2025, and expenses of $139.4 million, up 4% on the same period last year. EBITDA rose 13.8% to $77.8 million.
Earnings per share were 5.2 cents, up on the 3.1 cents reported in the first half of last year.
The company declared a fully franked dividend of 2 cents per share.
The context: Alongside the company’s first half results, Domain also announced the appointment of former REA Group boss Greg Ellis as the company’s interim chief executive, after Domain CEO Jason Pellegrino announced last year that he would step down from the role.
Ellis was chief executive and managing director of REA Group, Domain’s major competitor and the market leader, between 2008 and 2014 and has served on the Domain board since 2017.
What they said: “During the first half, Domain made pleasing progress with our marketplace strategy, delivering positive metrics across the business,” Domain CEO Jason Pellegrino said in a statement, who flagged optimism over the company’s Platinum Edge and Audience Boost initiatives.
“We are strengthening our collaboration with Nine, with significant cross platform branding opportunities during the recent Australian Open. We have also leveraged the power of Nine in the launch of a Victorian edition of Prestige magazine.
“And finally, we are progressing our investment into our technology platforms to accelerate the Marketplace journey, and broaden the range of ‘Only on Domain’ experiences available to our users. At the same time, we are achieving productivity gains to offset this increased investment.”
The sources: ASX media release, E&P research
