Singapore and Hong Kong, 8 December 2021 – PropertyGuru Pte. Ltd. (“PropertyGuru” or “the Group”), Southeast Asia’s leading property technology (“PropTech”) company1, today announced the Group’s financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2021. Despite its Priority Markets being adversely impacted by COVID-19, the Group delivered strong revenue growth and continued its leading Engagement Market Share positions.
In addition, in connection with the previously announced business combination between PropertyGuru and Bridgetown 2 Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: BTNB) (“Bridgetown 2”), a special purpose acquisition company formed by Pacific Century Group (“Pacific Century”) and Thiel Capital LLC (“Thiel Capital”), PropertyGuru Group Limited today publicly filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) a registration statement on Form F-4 (the “Registration Statement”). The Registration Statement is subject to SEC review.
Management Commentary
Hari V. Krishnan, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, PropertyGuru, said, “Our strong performance in the first half of 2021 demonstrates that our strategy to invest in our markets and teams and expand our products and services is working. Leveraging our integrated and differentiated technology platform, we are confident that we will emerge from the pandemic as the best solution to match property seekers and sellers across the region, which is estimated to become the world’s fourth largest economy in the world by 2030. We are beginning to solidify this position as more home seekers and investors turn to real estate to mitigate short-term economic uncertainties. We believe this, combined with the long-term fundamentals of urbanization, digitalization and a rising middle class fueled by a vibrant pool of increasingly affluent and digital property seekers, will continue to drive the expansion of Southeast Asia’s property market. We are only beginning to scratch the surface of our S$10.9 billion addressable market.
Today’s filing also reflects the significant progress that we have made in our business combination with Bridgetown 2. We look forward to completing that process in the first quarter of 2022 and accelerating our journey as a public company.”
Joe Dische, Chief Financial Officer, PropertyGuru, said, “Our strong revenue growth in the first half of 2021 represents our ability to effectively navigate an uneven path to recovery from the pandemic. Despite challenging market conditions in the third quarter this year, we are forecasting only a slight reduction in our full year 2021 revenue and no change in our full year Adjusted EBITDA against our previous projections. This is a result of our continued investments throughout the pandemic, including our strategic acquisitions to enhance our marketplace positions in Malaysia and Thailand and expand our data analytics capabilities.
Our resilient business model and ability to leverage technology and data, positions us well to capture the tremendous market opportunities that lie ahead. Our confidence is reflected in our long-term growth outlook beyond 2021, which remains strong.”
Matt Danzeisen, Chairman, Bridgetown 2, said, “Hari and his talented team have built a suite of digital property solutions that continues to stay ahead of the evolving needs of the region’s real estate market. Their innovative platform is reshaping the way millions of people across Southeast Asia think about property. We look forward to completing the transaction, which will provide PropertyGuru with greater financial resources to do what they do best.”
Financial Overview for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2021
Strong Group performance, despite adverse impact resulting from COVID-19 restrictions:
- Total revenue increased by 17.9% compared to the six months ended June 30, 2020 to S$42.9 million, reflecting renewed demand for property.
- Singapore: Revenue grew by 12.8% to S$25.4 million, with Average Revenue Per Agent (“ARPA”) of S$1,539 and a Singapore Agent subscription renewal rate of 83%, a 12% year-on-year increase.
- Vietnam: Revenue increased by 29.5% to S$10.1 million, with revenue per listing increasing by 30% year-on-year to S$2.76.
- Malaysia: Revenue increased 17.4% to S$4.2 million.
- Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of S$4.8 million, reflecting increased investments in people and marketing as the Group seeks to emerge strongly from the pandemic period.
- Net loss increased to S$150.6 million, primarily due to an accounting fair value loss of S$124.1 million on preference share conversion options, with the rise in valuation of the Group. The Group’s preference shares have since been converted to ordinary shares, therefore such fair value losses are not expected in future periods.
* Corporate consists of HQ Costs, which are not allocated to the segments. HQ 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.
Continued Category Leadership
For the six months ended June 30, 2021, PropertyGuru continued its Engagement Market Share leadership in Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, while maintaining its position in Indonesia.1
- Singapore: 81% – 5x the closest peer
- Vietnam: 74% – 2.9x the closest peer
- Malaysia: 95% – 22x the closest peer
- Thailand: 61% – 2.7x the closest peer
- Indonesia: 37% – 0.7x the closest peer
As of June 30, 2021, the Group’s platform connected more than 52 million property seekers monthly to more than 57,000 agents in its digital marketplaces of more than 3.3 million listings. Organic traffic represented 65%4 of overall traffic, demonstrating a compelling barrier to entry and good unit economics for the marketplace businesses.
Full Year 2021 Outlook
During the second half of 2021, the Group has been navigating Southeast Asia’s uneven recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. In Vietnam and Malaysia, the strict lockdown orders have significantly reduced real estate activity. These challenges have been partially offset by stronger than expected recovery in Singapore where the COVID-19 situation has been more stable.
For its full year 2021 revenue and Adjusted EBITDA outlook, the Group has taken into account the strength of its business while recognizing the ongoing adverse impact of COVID-19 driven restrictions on its five markets. Accordingly, the Group has marginally reduced the full year 2021 revenue outlook to approximately S$97.5 million, which would represent an 18.8% increase over 2020. The Group’s full year Adjusted EBITDA expected loss remains unchanged at S$16.4 million. The Group’s outlook for 2022 through 2025 also remains unchanged, driven by improved expectations for Singapore, Malaysia and Other Asia (Thailand and Indonesia) and more moderate expectations for Vietnam and fintech and data services.
