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.

Australian core operating costs rose by 7% on year. They should be down on year in the six months through June, but could still grow faster than revenue over the full fiscal year, REA said.

The group had previously guided for fiscal 2023 Australia revenue growth to outpace cost growth.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has raised the cash rate by a total 325 basis points since May in an effort to tame inflation. REA warned that it will take time for the full impact of higher interest rates on housing markets to become apparent. It said that January listing volumes were down 9% on year.

"We do expect that when interest rates stabilize, we will see increased activity in the property market. The Australian economy is strong, unemployment is low and immigration is increasing. Each of these underpin our property market," Chief Executive Owen Wilson said.

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 1704ET