Domain chair Nick Falloon bats away CEO recruitment questions at AGM
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More news: Domain chair Nick Falloon would not be drawn on questions from shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting today about whether the company would favour internal or external candidates.
Falloon twice faced questions about the company’s chief executive succession plans, after it announced late last month that Jason Pellegrino would step down from the role after six years in the job.
Falloon was asked about his position on internal versus external candidates and whether Greg Ellis, former chief executive of rival REA Group and current Domain board member, would throw his hat in the ring for the job.
Domain's share price continued to fall and was down 5.26% to $2.88 by 11:35am AEDT.
What they said: “Look, we’ve, as we announced today, we’ve retained one of the major [recuritment] firms to start that [recruitment] process,” Falloon responded.
“And as I’ve mentioned earlier, there is an ongoing process that’s underway for the succession process, and we'll comment on that when that’s developed.”
Domain shares tumble after early gains as Citi sees potential downgrades
More news: Domain shares reversed early gains on the ASX after the Nine-controlled real estate platform posted a rise in revenue and new listings during the September quarter.
Domain shares were down 4.6% to $2.90 by 10:50am AEDT, having initially lifted at the start of trading.
Citi analysts noted that Domain's digital revenue growth of 9% in the first quarter missed Citi's forecast of 15%, due to weaker-than-expected residential yield growth and a year-on-year revenue decline in its Domain insights segment.
They said the key focus for Domain will be on underlying assumptions for revenue growth for the rest of the financial year, especially given tough listings comparables.
Given the weaker quarter, the analysts said they see potential for first-half downgrades, though full-year forecasts will depend on further detail on the outlook for the rest of FY25, especially in terms of Domain's depth outlook.
Domain shares rise as Q1 revenue growth falls short of estimates
More news: Domain shares climbed at market open on the ASX after the real estate platform posted a mixed result for the September quarter.
Shares were up 0.66% to $3.06 by 10:30am AEDT.
The company posted Q1 revenue growth of 8% year on year, short of average forecasts of 11%, according to E&P Capital. Controllable yield growth of 6% for the quarter was short of E&P's estimate of 11% for FY25, while listing volumes growth of 8% beat E&P's estimate of 6%.
What they said: "While the listings trends remain solid (should have largely been known) and 2Q has started well, we suspect the market will be disappointed with the controllable yield growth in 1Q, with growth of 6% lower than the price increase put through by Domain at the start of FY25," E&P analyst Entcho Raykovski said.
"We recognise that [Domain] has significantly underperformed REA over the past 12 months, but we don’t expect this update to drive a closing of the gap," he said.
Domain reiterates guidance after Q1 revenue, listings growth
The news: Real estate platform Domain maintained its full-year guidance after an uptick in revenue and new listings during the September quarter.
The numbers: Domain reported total revenue growth of 8% year over year, supported by residential revenue growth of 12% and digital revenue growth of around 9%.
October new listings growth "continued to accelerate", the company said, underpinning year-on-year depth revenue growth of 19%. Depth revenue refers to Domain's premium products that drive traffic to listings, build brand awareness for the agent, and a range of other features.
Domain noted that its new social media amplification product, audience boost, has helped driven a 23% uplift in views per listing during the first quarter of 2025.
The company also said that Q1 saw depth contracts with agents increase 7% year on year, with total depth revenue rising 15%.
The context: Domain reaffirmed its FY25 cost and EBITDA margin guidance, with costs increasing in the "high single to low double-digit" percentage range and EBITDA margins expected to be stable. The company said it expects margin expansion in FY26 and beyond.
The Nine-controlled company said it has seen listings growth in the first quarter with an "improving environment" outside of Sydney and Melbourne.
The sources: ASX announcement , E&P Capital research, Citi research
