15th Dec 2020 11:26
(Alliance News) - Purplebricks Group PLC on Tuesday reported strong interim results since the housing market shutdown ended in May, which was a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Shares in Purplebricks were up 18% at 89.46 pence in London on Tuesday.
The Solihull, England-based online estate agent swung to a pretax profit of GBP4.3 million in the six months ended October 31, compared to a loss of GBP2.3 million the year prior.
Revenue was GBP44.2 million, showing a 6.2% decrease from GBP47.1 million in 2019. Purplebricks said this was due to the restrictions put in place to curb Covid-19 during the period.
Administrative and establishment expenses reduced 14% to GBP14.3 million from GBP16.3 million, and marketing costs were down 27% to GBP9.0 million from GBP12.3 million.
Chief Executive Vic Darvey said: "We are now emerging from the pandemic in a very strong competitive position. Our focus for 2021 will be to re-accelerate the growth of our core business by continuing to enhance our digital innovation, our virtual capabilities and increasing agent productivity through automation and efficiency. This period has shown that our technology-led business model is now more relevant than ever, as customers continue to shift to being more comfortable buying and selling their homes digitally."
Looking ahead, Purplebricks said while "there are reasons to remain cautious on the economic outlook," it expects adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the 2021 full-year to exceed the upper end of consensus, due to "improved efficiency", which it reported in November.
By Zoe Wickens; [email protected]
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
PURP.L