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If the results of real estate giant McGrath and industry e-rag Domain are anything to go by, the sector is going through some major turbulence.
But that certainly hasn't impacted The Agency (ASX: AU1) which defied the odds in FY19.
In spite of the doom and gloom real estate sector that resulted in McGrath posting a $15.6 million loss, The Agency has posted quite favourable results.
Its 86 per cent increase in total revenue to $31.3 million is even more impressive when considering the company is less than three years old at the time of reporting.
During the period the group saw its number of agents on the books increase by 47 per cent to 272, listings rose by 43 per cent to 3,430, and 2419 properties were sold, up from 667 in FY18.
The company did however post an EBITDA loss of approximately $4.2 million, however this included $1.3 million of one-off, non-recurring costs associated with the takeover of Top Level, known for its brand Sell Lease Property.
In The Agency's latest financial figures it noted a consideration of $10.5 million for the acquisition, and negative net assets relating to Top Level of $10.79 million.
Excluding these costs The Agency says it would have recorded a normalised EBITDA loss of approximately $2.9 million, or a 10 per cent reduction on FY18.
"This has been a company-making year for The Agency in which we completed the Top Level Real Estate acquisition, expanded into key real estate markets and recruited strongly, despite challenging wider market conditions," says The Agency managing director Paul Niardone.
"Since launching this business model less than three years ago we have achieved outstanding financial and operating results and have attracted some of the best agents."
"We realise the need to implement measures to control our costs in the current environment and have identified and are already implementing these cost savings."
Post-FY19 the company has announced a $5.6 million capital raising and a $5.8 million debt to equity conversion to be used to repay existing loans while providing funds to accelerate The Agency's growth.
"Coupled with the $5.6 million capital raising and $5.8 million debt to equity conversion which will significantly strengthen our balance sheet, and signs of green shoots in key markets, I anticipate the company will continue to achieve strong operational and financial growth moving forward."
Shares in The Agency are up 7.69 per cent to $0.07 per share at 10.05am AEST.
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