Singapore-based property technology company PropertyGuru has on Wednesday announced that its revenue for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2022, rose 17 percent year over year to S$40 million ($30 million), underpinned by businesses in Singapore and Malaysia.
PropertyGuru said in a statement that its net loss for the quarter narrowed to S$5 million ($4 million) from S$27 million ($20 million) a year ago.
Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter also improved to S$5 million ($4 million), from losses before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of S$4 million ($3 million) a year ago.
As for the full year, the group’s revenue increased 35 percent year on year to S$136 million ($101 million).
Its adjusted EBITDA for full year also improved to S$14 million ($10 million), from a loss of S$10 million ($7 million) in 2021.
Its marketplaces revenues increased 15 percent year on year to S$38 million ($28 million) in the fourth quarter and grew 34 percent year on year to S$131 million ($97 million), as continued strength in Singapore and Malaysia offset challenges in the Vietnam market due to credit restrictions in the latter part of the year.
“We are pleased with our results, as PropertyGuru performed well in the face of several transitory challenges that continue to impact our core markets,” said its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Hari V. Krishnan.
“While rising interest rates and government credit intervention weighed on market activity, we remained resilient and delivered good growth by helping our customers navigate the challenges they faced and confirming the value add of our solutions in all phases of the real estate cycle,” he said.
According to him, last year was a historic year for PropertyGuru, as it took the next step in its company’s evolution by listing on the NYSE.
“Going forward, we see great opportunity in 2023 and beyond as we continue to offer our customers differentiated solutions while looking to opportunistically deploy capital to accelerate the company’s ongoing expansion,
“Sendhelper is a good example of a strategic acquisition we are excited about given the value it creates for our large audience base, and the underlying synergies between the companies,” he added.
He also noted that rising rates, global inflation, and governmental fiscal activity are challenges that will need to be navigated in the near-term.
“We remain bullish on our ability to deliver value to our customers as we digitize the property ecosystem and bring transparency and efficiency,
“We believe that our markets in Southeast Asia will be at the forefront of future global growth,” he added.
Meanwhile, its Chief Financial Officer Joe Dische said PropertyGuru delivered strong 35 percent revenue growth in 2022, with all its segments performing well despite challenging operating conditions.
“We are pleased with how well our business responded, with proactive cost control actions contributing to a S$25 million ($19 million) year over year improvement in adjusted EBITDA,
“Our actions in 2022 have laid the foundation for further revenue growth and improvements in operating performance. We continue to scale the business, accelerate the realization of our investments, and leverage the deployment of further growth capital,” he added.
The company anticipates full year 2023 revenues of between S$160 million ($119 million) and S$170 million ($126 million) and adjusted EBITDA of between S$11 million ($8 million) and S$15 million ($11 million).
It said that in the near-term, the integration and scaling of the Sendhelper acquisition is expected to negatively impact profitability by S$3 million ($2 million) to S$4 million ($3 million) in 2023.
It also said that beginning in the first quarter of 2023, the company will no longer remove the ongoing cost of being a listed entity when calculating adjusted EBITDA.
For 2023, the company anticipates that such costs will be between S$11 million ($8 million) to S$12 million ($9 million).
For 2022, such costs were S$11 million ($8 million), and on this basis the company’s full year 2022 adjusted EBITDA would be S$3 million ($2.23 million).
The company also said the following short-term factors may continue to impact its operations and warrant a conservative outlook in 2023: actions by the government of Vietnam to rein in the availability of consumer credit, residual political uncertainty in Malaysia, tightened residential policies in Singapore, a lack of clarity in global fiscal policy stemming from rising interest rates, greater inflationary pressures, and global supply chain issues.
Longer-term, the company said it remains bullish on its growth trajectory, prospects for improving profitability, and the fundamental opportunity that exists in its core markets.
PropertyGuru’s revenue rises 47 percent year on year to $25.1M in 3Q