By Stuart Condie


SYDNEY--REA Group Ltd. held its dividend despite a drop in Australian property listings contributing to an 8.9% fall in first-half profit.

REA on Friday reported a net profit for the six months through December of 201.6 million Australian dollars (US$139.5 million), compared with A$221.3 million a year earlier. It said Australian residential listings fell by 9% on-year as property prices declined from their Covid-driven peaks.

Data by property analytics firm CoreLogic Inc. showed the average Australian residential property value fell by 5.3% over the 12 months through December, having surged by 22% the prior year.

Revenue rose by 5.2% on-year to A$617.3 million but group operating costs had risen by 15% at the same time, driven by factors including higher salaries in a tight labor market and investment in its India unit.

ASX-listed REA reported a net profit from core operations of A$205 million. The average analyst forecast was for a net profit from core operations of A$196 million from revenue of A$598 million, according to data compiled by FactSet.

The board declared an interim dividend of 75 Australian cents per share, in line with 75 cents a year ago.

REA is 61% owned by News Corp., which also owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of this newswire and The Wall Street Journal.


Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-09-23 1655ET