REA Group shares climb as FY25 result hits estimates
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More news: Shares in News Corp's real estate platform REA Group jumped in early trading, after the company reported 23% growth in full-year net profit after tax.
REA shares were up 7.2% to $255.09 at 11am AEST, taking gains to around 35% over the last 12 months.
E&P Capital analyst Entcho Raykovski said the result was "broadly in line" with consensus estimates.
He noted the company is targeting "double-digit" buy yield growth in fiscal 2026, compared with E&P's estimate of 12% growth. REA also expects "high single-digit" operating cost growth, compared to consensus estimates of 11.2% growth and E&P's forecast of 9.7% growth.
Raykovski flagged that REA's first-quarter listings are expected to be down year on year, though the company expects FY26 listings to be broadly flat compared to FY25, consistent with E&P's estimates.
REA Group reports 23% jump in full-year profit, hikes dividend
The news: News Corp-controlled real estate listings platform REA Group has reported a 23% increase in full-year net profit after tax to $564.4 million, just shy of average estimates of $565.19 million, according to Visible Alpha data. This is up from last year's tally of $460.5 million.
The numbers: REA declared a final dividend of $1.38 per share, taking total dividends to $2.48. This is 31% higher than last year's payout of $1.89, and above consensus forecasts of $2.34 per share.
The company reported revenue of $1.67 billion, up 15% year on year. Australia revenue was up 14% to $1.5 billion, while India revenue grew 25% to $129 million.
The context: REA said its profit growth reflected a gain on the sale of the group's investment in Singapore-based property site PropertyGuru during the year.
Outgoing chief executive Owen Wilson also said buyer activity increased in the period, noting that recent interest rate cuts helped take enquiries to customers to a three-year high in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, REA chairman Hamish McLennan said the appointment of a new CEO will be announced "in the next month", following news of Wilson's retirement in February.
What they said: "Australians continually turn to realestate.com.au as the most trusted property platform, with more listings than anywhere else," said Wilson.
"We further strengthened our audience position in FY25, increasing our lead over the nearest competitor by 17% on the prior year."
The source: ASX
