Australia's REA Group Profit Jumps

SYDNEY--REA Group Ltd. (REA.AU), Australia's largest online real-estate classifieds company, Friday said acquisitions and ad upgrades by agents helped drive a 37% rise in its annual net profit.

The company posted a net profit for the year through June of 149.9 million Australian dollars (US$138.9 million), or A$149.7 million excluding non-controlling interests. A 30% increase in revenue was buoyed by acquisitions, which included an Australian rental application form business, and the November launch of Chinese-language property site myfun.com.

Revenue at the company's Australian operations also jumped 30% after a fall in subscription revenue was offset by increased sales of listing depth products, which allow agents to pay more to enhance and highlight individual property listings. REA also operates real-estate sites in Italy, Luxembourg and regional France.

It declared a final dividend of 35 Australian cents per share, up from 25.5 Australian cents in the corresponding period a year earlier.

REA Group is 62%-owned by News Corp (NWS), which owns and publishes The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires.

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