PropertyGuru Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results
Revenue of S$150 Million and Adjusted EBITDA of S$19 Million in 2023
- Total revenue grew 11% to S$150 million in 2023
- Adjusted EBITDA of S$19 million in 2023, up from S$3 million in 2022
- Active cost management resulted in a 13% Adjusted EBITDA margin in 2023, up from 2% in 2022
- The Company anticipates full year 2024 revenue of between S$165 million and S$180 million and Adjusted EBITDA of between S$22 million and S$26 million
Singapore – March 4, 2024 – PropertyGuru Group Limited (NYSE: PGRU) (“PropertyGuru” or the “Company”), Southeast Asia’s leading[1], property technology (“PropTech”) company, today announced financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2023. Revenue of S$42 million in the fourth quarter 2023 increased 4% year over year. Net profit was S$1 million in the fourth quarter and Adjusted EBITDA2 was S$9 million. This compares to a net loss of S$5 million and Adjusted EBITDA[2] of S$0.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Management Commentary
Hari V. Krishnan, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, said “Our 2023 results demonstrate our ability to navigate challenging macro-economic conditions and our commitment to profitability. We delivered double-digit revenue growth and a double-digit Adjusted EBITDA margin for the full year. This is a clear testament to our ability to create value for our customers and help property-seekers achieve their home-ownership goals.
Despite less than favorable market conditions in Vietnam and Malaysia, we were able to achieve these results by being laser-focused on optimising costs, adopting internal process automation, improving code quality and productivity. On the technology front, we continue to invest in the transformational use of Generative AI and automation to place us at the forefront of property technology and set us up for consistent improvement in productivity for years to come.
We continue to make proactive changes to build a sustainable, future-proofed business. Following our principle to make focused investments in our identified priorities, we have undertaken a strategic step towards re-architecting our organisation. This will ensure we have set our investment levels commensurate to the opportunity presented, with the right efficiencies to deliver scalable profitable growth for years to come.
We acknowledge that this change is not easy on everyone and extend our heartfelt gratitude to the impacted Gurus for their contributions to the Group and wish them the very best for the next chapter in their careers.
Going forward, while we anticipate ongoing macro challenges, our blueprint for success remains clear – innovate and advance through talent and technology. In 2023, we added key executives to our leadership teams, and at the start of 2024, welcomed Ray Ferguson as PropertyGuru’s new Board Chair. Ray brings a wealth of experience from a long and distinguished career of business building, corporate leadership, and market navigation.
We remain confident about the long-term prospects for economic growth and stability in Southeast Asia and our vision where we power communities to live, work, and thrive in tomorrow’s cities.”
Joe Dische, Chief Financial Officer, added “I am pleased with our results in 2023. We delivered 11% revenue growth and a 13% Adjusted EBITDA margin despite significant macro challenges in two core markets, Vietnam and Malaysia.
As we enter 2024 and get closer to positive inflection points in Vietnam and Malaysia, we are encouraged by how successful our internal cost-control, efficiency, and automation efforts were in 2023. We spent the year balancing product innovation and investment with careful cost management and reaped the benefit of these activities throughout the year, particularly in the fourth quarter when our Adjusted EBITDA margin jumped to 22% from 1% in the prior year quarter.
Net income in the fourth quarter of 2023 was S$1 million, a distinct improvement over a loss of S$5 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, and the second sequential quarter in a row of positive net income.
For the full year 2023, all our marketplaces were Adjusted EBITDA positive. There was significant Adjusted EBITDA margin growth in Singapore, Malaysia, and Other Asia. Notably, corporate expenses as a percentage of overall revenue decreased from 39% in 2022 to 37% in 2023.
Looking to 2024, we will continue to focus on expanding internal operating leverage as we look to improve profitability. We are introducing a full year 2024 revenue outlook of S$165 million to S$180 million and a full year Adjusted EBITDA outlook of S$22 million to S$26 million.”
Financial Highlights – Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023
- Total revenue increased to S$42 million (+4%) in the fourth quarter as compared to the previous year and increased to S$150 million (+11%) year over year.
- Marketplaces revenue increased to S$40 million (+4%) in the fourth quarter as compared to the previous year and increased to S$144 million (+10%) year over year as continued strength in Singapore helped to offset ongoing challenges in Vietnam.
- Revenue by segment:
- Singapore Marketplaces revenue increased to S$23 million (+23%) in the fourth quarter as compared to the previous year and increased to S$86 million (+24%) year over year, as the number of agents and the Average Revenue Per Agent (“ARPA”) grew in the quarter and the year. Both fourth quarter ARPA (S$1,312) and full year ARPA (S$4,977) were up 22% compared to prior year periods, and the number of agents in Singapore was up over 100 from the third quarter of 2023 to finish the year at 16,424. The renewal rate was 75% in the quarter and 81% for the full year 2023.
- Malaysia Marketplaces revenue was flat in the quarter at S$8 million (-0.3%) compared to the prior year quarter and increased to S$28 million (+9%) for the full year. Revenue on a Singapore Dollar basis was adversely impacted by depreciation of the Malaysian Ringgit. On a local currency basis, revenue in the fourth quarter was up 5% and revenue in 2023 was up 16%.
- Vietnam Marketplaces revenue decreased to S$5 million (-22%) in the fourth quarter as compared to the prior year period and decreased to S$17 million (-29%) year over year, as a reduction in the number of listings was partially offset by an increase in the average revenue per listing (“ARPL”). The number of listings was 1.2 million in the fourth quarter down 26% from the fourth quarter of 2022. ARPL was up 3% to S$3.34 in the fourth quarter and was up 14% to S$3.39 for the full year.
- Fintech & Data services revenue decreased to S$2 million (-10%) in the fourth quarter as compared to the prior year period and increased to S$6 million (+20%) year over year.
- At quarter-end, cash and cash equivalents were S$306 million.
Information regarding our operating segments is presented below. It is noted that in 2023 the Company no longer removed the ongoing cost of being a listed entity when calculating Adjusted EBITDA. As such, the 2022 comparatives have been retrospectively adjusted accordingly.
| For the Three Months Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | YoY Growth | ||||||||||
| (S$ in thousands except percentages) | ||||||||||||
| Revenue | 41,506 | 40,097 | 3.5 | % | ||||||||
| Marketplaces | 39,939 | 38,350 | 4.1 | % | ||||||||
| Singapore | 23,094 | 18,805 | 22.8 | % | ||||||||
| Vietnam | 4,587 | 5,870 | -21.9 | % | ||||||||
| Malaysia | 7,505 | 7,531 | -0.3 | % | ||||||||
| Other Asia | 4,753 | 6,144 | -22.6 | % | ||||||||
| Fintech and data services | 1,567 | 1,747 | -10.3 | % | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | 8,928 | 503 | ||||||||||
| Marketplaces | 24,039 | 18,240 | ||||||||||
| Singapore | 17,401 | 11,441 | ||||||||||
| Vietnam | 590 | 722 | ||||||||||
| Malaysia | 3,608 | 3,429 | ||||||||||
| Other Asia | 2,440 | 2,648 | ||||||||||
| Fintech and data services | (2,262 | ) | (1,940 | ) | ||||||||
| Corporate* | (12,849 | ) | (15,797 | ) | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%) | 21.5 | % | 1.3 | % | ||||||||
| Marketplaces | 60.2 | % | 47.6 | % | ||||||||
| Singapore | 75.3 | % | 60.8 | % | ||||||||
| Vietnam | 12.9 | % | 12.3 | % | ||||||||
| Malaysia | 48.1 | % | 45.5 | % | ||||||||
| Other Asia | 51.3 | % | 43.1 | % | ||||||||
| Fintech and data services | -144.4 | % | -111.0 | % | ||||||||
| For the Twelve Months Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | YoY Growth | ||||||||||
| (S$ in thousands except percentages) | ||||||||||||
| Revenue | 150,135 | 135,925 | 10.5 | % | ||||||||
| Marketplaces | 144,068 | 130,861 | 10.1 | % | ||||||||
| Singapore | 85,988 | 69,241 | 24.2 | % | ||||||||
| Vietnam | 17,130 | 24,040 | -28.7 | % | ||||||||
| Malaysia | 27,740 | 25,388 | 9.3 | % | ||||||||
| Other Asia | 13,210 | 12,192 | 8.3 | % | ||||||||
| Fintech and data services | 6,067 | 5,064 | 19.8 | % | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | 18,912 | 3,325 | ||||||||||
| Marketplaces | 83,843 | 63,045 | ||||||||||
| Singapore | 65,300 | 47,626 | ||||||||||
| Vietnam | 778 | 5,470 | ||||||||||
| Malaysia | 14,803 | 10,208 | ||||||||||
| Other Asia | 2,962 | (259 | ) | |||||||||
| Fintech and data services | (9,299 | ) | (7,344 | ) | ||||||||
| Corporate* | (55,632 | ) | (52,376 | ) | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%) | 12.6 | % | 2.4 | % | ||||||||
| Marketplaces | 58.2 | % | 48.2 | % | ||||||||
| Singapore | 75.9 | % | 68.8 | % | ||||||||
| Vietnam | 4.5 | % | 22.8 | % | ||||||||
| Malaysia | 53.4 | % | 40.2 | % | ||||||||
| Other Asia | 22.4 | % | -2.1 | % | ||||||||
| Fintech and data services | -153.3 | % | -145.0 | % | ||||||||
*Corporate consists of headquarters costs, which are not allocated to the segments. Headquarters costs are costs of PropertyGuru’s personnel that are based predominantly in its Singapore headquarters and certain key personnel in Malaysia and Thailand, and that service PropertyGuru’s group as a whole, consisting of its executive officers and its group marketing, technology, product, human resources, finance and operations teams, as well as platform IT costs (hosting, licensing, domain fees), workplace facilities costs, corporate public relations retainer costs and professional fees such as audit, legal and consultant fees. A portion of the cost of being a listed entity is also included.
Strong Category Leadership Drives Long-Term Growth Opportunities
As of December 31, 2023, PropertyGuru continued its Engagement Market Share[3] leadership in Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand.
| Singapore: 82% – 5.7x the closest peer | Malaysia: 92% – 12.0x the closest peer | |
| Vietnam: 80% – 4.1x the closest peer | Thailand: 54% – 1.9x the closest peer | |
Full Year 2024 Outlook
The Company anticipates full year 2024 revenues of between S$165 million and S$180 million and Adjusted EBITDA of between S$22 million and S$26 million.
The following near-term factors may impact the Company’s operations in 2024: further delays in the recovery of Vietnam’s property market due to consumer sentiment and access to credit; weaker than expected economic conditions in Malaysia; and additional fiscal policy measures that the Singaporean government may implement. Longer-term, the Company remains bullish on its growth trajectory, prospects for improving profitability, and the fundamental opportunity that exists in our core markets.
Conference Call and Webcast Details
The Company will host a conference call and webcast on Friday, March 1, 2024, at 7:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time / 8:30 p.m. Singapore Standard Time to discuss the Company’s financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2023. The PropertyGuru (NYSE: PGRU) 4Q 2023 earnings call can be accessed by registering at:
https://propertyguru.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FNSna08_SGuPmen8wrMrTA
An archived version will be available on the Company’s Investor Relations website after the call at
https://investors.propertygurugroup.com/news-and-events/events-and-presentations/default.aspx
[1] Based on SimilarWeb data between July 2023 and December 2023.
[2] Please refer to non-GAAP reconciliation of net income/(loss) to Adjusted EBITDA section for more details.
[3] Based on SimilarWeb data between July 2023 and December 2023.
