Zoopla snaps up Technicweb and moves into connected home market as it unveils soaring profits
FTSE 250-listed Zoopla Property Group announced buoyant full-year results today as well as the acquisition of Technicweb and a move into connected homes with a partnership with Neos.
The figures
Revenue was up 84 per cent to £197.7m, while adjusted Ebitda soared 58 per cent to £77.1m.
Profit for the year was up 44 per cent from 2015 to £36.7m, though net debt was also up from £93.2m to £146.3m.
The property platform also announced ongoing UK agency partner growth – an increase of five per cent, with listings inventory up 10 per cent. That makes it 18 consecutive months of UK agency partner growth.
Online traffic was also strong: the company recorded over 600m visits to its websites and apps – 68 per cent of which was via mobile.
Zoopla has proposed a final dividend of 3.7p per share.
Shares were up 6.7 per cent in early trading at 340.38p.
Why it's interesting
The company has been investing in and partnering with a range of tech startups – in February it announced it was investing £1m in four newbies (Landbay, Trussle, FixFlo and PropertyDetective). And in April it picked up Property Software Holdings for £75m.
It's been a concerted push to help develop the firm's standing and position itself at the forefront of innovation.
And now Zoopla has announced the acquisition of estate agency website design business Technicweb and an investment in, and partnership with, connected home insurance provider Neos.
What the company said
Founder and chief executive Alex Chesterman said:
We are stronger and more diversified than ever.
The acquisition of Property Software Group has been transformational, allowing us to offer the UK's only end-to-end solution for property professionals including software, workflow, CRM and marketing tools.
On the Neos move, he added: "As we move towards an era of the smart home with connected devices we think it's an interesting proposition to tie it to insurance."
The company said management "remains comfortable with market expectations for the 2017 financial year".
In short
Diversifying is paying off for Zoopla with a record year for revenue and profits.