With the housing market showing signs of improvement, ASX-listed real estate group The Agency (ASX:AU1) is confident of continued growth in revenue and key metrics in second half of FY2020 after delivering record revenue and maiden earnings for 1H 2020.
Paul Niardone, Managing director of The Agency Group
Statutory reported earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at $533,000 for the period, $1.5 million if new accounting standard AASB 16 is adopted. Total revenue for the six months was $25.6 million compared to $10.5 million for first half 2019.
Gross Commission Income (GCI) was a record $24.9 million, up from $17.7 million in 1H19, while there were 1,591 exchanges and more than $1.5 billion worth of property sold across the combined group compared to 719 exchanges worth approximately $382 million in the previous corresponding period.
The pipeline for future sales is significant, with the combined group reporting 1,955 listings, up 87% on the previous corresponding period.
Properties under management (PuM) also continues to be a source of strength for the Company with The Agency’s east coast and west coast operations reporting a total management portfolio of 4,678 PuM as at 31st December 2019, up 11% on the previous corresponding period (1H19: 4209PuM).
The Agency managing director Paul Niardone said the results reflected the strength of The Agency brand and why reputable real estate businesses and agents continue to join the business.
We are witnessing an improving housing market in which house values have risen across every capital city, auction clearance rates have rapidly increased and fewer days on market for properties in Sydney and Melbourne. In Perth, green shoots are emerging with a boost to property values in recent months,” he said.
“We continued our national growth trajectory with the launch of an office in Canberra – which holds an important position on our expansion roadmap – appointing highly experienced property developer and agent Peter Micalos to the role of senior partner.
“According to CoreLogic data, Canberra is on a growth trajectory with dwelling values increasing by 2.3% in December 2019 and 3.14% in January 2020.
“The nation-wide improvement in the housing market is highly encouraging for The Agency and we anticipate building on our strong half year 2020 result for the remainder of the financial year,” he added.