REA Group Grows Revenue 23% in FY24 with Domestic and Indian Portal Businesses Growing Market Leadership

REA Group saw revenues of nearly one and a half billion Australian Dollars in the financial year 2024 as its business grew 23% according to the Melbourne-based real estate portal operator's latest financial filing. Notable figures from the company's report included:

• Revenue of A$1,453, up 23% year-on-year.
• Indian revenue was A$103 million, up 31%.
• EBITDA (excluding associates) of A$825m, up 27%.
• EPS of A$3.49, up 24%.

REA Group, which is majority-owned by New York-based News Corp, owns and operates the leading Australian real estate portal Realestate.com.au as well as the Housing.com, Makaan.com and PropTiger.com portals in India, collectively known as REA India.

Its assets in both countries grew significantly over the course of the Australian financial year as Aussie revenues climbed 22% compared to FY23 while Indian revenues grew 31%.

Domestically, revenues benefitted from a 13% price rise and an increase in sales of premium visibility products as well as the positive impact of geographical mix due to the outperformance of the higher-yielding Sydney and Melbourne markets.

REA Group Chief Executive Officer, Owen Wilson commented: “REA’s exceptional result reflects the value we deliver at every stage of the property journey. In a strong market, particularly in Melbourne and Sydney, customers increasingly preferenced our premium products to leverage the strength of our audience and maximise their campaigns."

Revenue from the commercial and developer segment was up 12% totalling A$159 million as an 11% price rise in commercial was offset by a 13% decline in new build project commencements.

REA's Media, Data and Other segment saw revenues grow 25% to A$122 million. The growth was due in no small part to the incorporation of CampaignAgent, a buy-now-pay-later solution provider for vendors which was consolidated in July.

The company's Financial Services segment, which was supercharged by the A$244 million acquisition of Mortgage Choice in 2021, saw operating revenue increase 8% to $74m. Higher trail commission revenue driven by lower run-off rates and increased penetration of higher-margin white-label products was partially offset by a 1% decline in settlements.

In India, REA continued its growth trend seen in recent reports as revenues soared 31%. REA India has focussed on a mobile-first strategy which has seen it emerge as a traffic leader in the market. The company noted that it maintained that position in FY24 as app traffic increased by 39%.

Commenting on the progress made in India, Owen Wilson said: "REA India maintained its strong momentum with excellent revenue growth as customers increased usage of our products, and we continued to benefit from investment in our app experience with significant app audience growth.”

REA India continues to operate at a significant loss as it grows. Encouragingly for shareholders though, EBITDA losses from Indian operations narrowed slightly in FY24 to A$36 million and the company said that it is increasingly able to monetise agents from so-called 'Tier 2 cities'.

Below: REA India CEO, Dhruv Agarwala talks to the PPW Podcast about his business.

REA Group's report also included details about the acquisition of Realtair, an end-to-end property sales platform that streamlines the way agents connect with property owners. Having initially invested in 2020 for a 37% stake in the company, REA acquired Realtair's remaining shares on July 18th this year for A$34 million. Realtair's results are expected to be around breakeven for FY25.

The company also noted that its losses from equity-accounted investments widened from A$16 million in FY23 to A$26 million in the latest period. REA holds a 20% stake in Move, Inc. the parent of Realtor.com in the United States as well as a 17.2% stake in Southeast Asian portal operator, PropertyGuru.

Looking ahead the company expects its losses from associates to narrow in FY25 and more positive growth in Australia as the domestic housing market continues to be stable.

“After a year of strong listings growth, we continue to see a healthy balance of supply and demand in the Australian property market. While interest rates are expected to remain at current levels for longer, strong demand drivers remain in place and the
positive impact of income tax cuts should continue to support the confidence of buyers and sellers," commented Wilson.

“REA enters FY25 in a strong position and with a clear strategy to drive growth. This will see continued investment and innovation across our products and platforms, and we look forward to delivering greater value to our customers and deeper experiences to our consumers.”