Shares of real estate website owner iProperty Group Ltd (ASX: IPP) soared 12.3% to trade at $2.55 this morning on the back of a promising earnings update.
iProperty Group, which is Asia's top ranked online property group and 19.9% owned by REA Group Limited (ASX: REA), provided a positive market update in May which revealed a 107% growth in online revenue from property developers. It also said that revenue from real estate agents had increased by 43%, which investors responded very warmly to at the time.
Complementing that update, iProperty Group has today increased its guidance on revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the full-year.
The group now expects revenues to be between $32.5 million and $36 million, up from prior guidance of $30 million to $36 million, while it expects EBITDA to be between $3 million to $6 million. That compares to the $2 million to $5 million previously forecast. It mightn't be a major increase in either case, but it is pleasing to see nonetheless.
Commenting on the result, iProperty Group's Chief Executive Officer, Georg Chmiel said "We are extremely happy with the performance of our business over the first 5 months of 2015 and the strong outlook for the remainder of the year."
He added that "Our profitable Malaysian, Thailand and Hong Kong operations are going from strength to strength, and Indonesia is further extending its lead over the competition. The transition of our Singapore operations into a hub for international projects and project marketing is also progressing very well."
iProperty Group has previously advised that it also expects to become cash flow positive this year. Despite today's gain, the stock is still trading at a near 33% discount to its 52-week high price and could be a rewarding investment over the coming years for investors who buy today.
