PropNex Q3 profit more than doubles to $14.4m on property market boom

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Real estate agency PropNex reported on Wednesday (Nov 10) a 113.2 per cent surge in its bottom line for its fiscal third quarter together with a doubling of its revenue.

Net profit jumped 113.2 per cent to $14.4 million for the three months ended Sept 30, from $6.8 million in the year-ago period.

Earnings per share was 3.89 cents, up from 1.83 cents in the year-ago period.

Revenue swelled 98.8 per cent to $234.4 million from $117.9 million previously, mainly driven by higher commission income from agency services of $67.5 million and from project marketing services of $48.9 million.

This was due to a higher number of transactions completed in the third quarter following improvements in both the Covid-19 situation and the economy, PropNex said.

Ismail Gafoor, co-founder, executive chairman and chief executive of PropNex said the company delivered a commendable revenue and profit this quarter, demonstrating broad-based strength and the resilience of its business model.

"Besides our key drivers of growth in agency services and project marketing services, we are also heartened to see heightened activity in the en bloc space, and have made significant progress in securing viable projects in this regard. Keen interest is expected for the Lakepoint Condominium at the reserve price of $640 million with tender closing on Dec 22, 2021," noted Mr Gafoor.

For the nine months to September, PropNex reported a 111.9 per cent increase in net profit at $45.8 million, from $21.6 million during the same period last year.

Revenue grew 99.6 per cent year on year to $715.5 million.

Staff costs for the first nine months increased by $1.9 million or 18.8 per cent, to $12.1 million from $10.2 million in the year-ago period.

Other expenses increased by $2.1 million or 40 per cent, in the first nine months, to $7.4 million from $5.3 million previously. This was mainly due to the increase in referral fee expenses, recruitment expenses, impairment loss on trade and other receivables, legal and professional fees, corporate gift expenses, and advertising and marketing expenses.

Mr Gafoor said: "To stay ahead of the curve, we continue to invest significant resources in talent development, innovation and technology.

"Our financial strength allows us to make timely investments to transform the businesses that we operate, enables us to deliver better experiences for customers, to win market share and to reinforce our leadership position over the long term."

Shares of PropNex closed down one cent or 0.5 per cent to $1.90 on Tuesday.