image source: Sky News
Purplebricks (PURP) , the online estate agency announced its official withdrawal from the US market on Wednesday after a strategic review, the company said in its final results.
Purplebricks reported that revenues were up 55% to £136.5 million and that operating loss widened to £52.3 million, compared to £27.9 million in the previous year.
In February, it announced that poor performance in its US and Australian businesses forced management to dampen its revenue guidance from £165-175 million to the £130-140 million range.
It announced its withdrawal from the Australian business earlier in the year in May.
However it reported that its UK was performing well, with UK revenues up 21% to £90.1 million and UK adjusted EBITDA up 65% to £10.2 million.
Purplebricks’ Canadian business which it acquired in July 2018, continues to meet expectations, contributing £23.7 million of revenues, it said.
Shares in Purplebricks were trading 2% higher at 95p a share following the results
Vic Darvey, Group Chief Executive Officer, commented: “With a base of clear brand leadership in both the UK and Canada and a differentiated, technology-led proposition driving business model advantages, we now have a clear plan to unlock the next wave of growth and extend our market leadership.”
He added: “We have taken the difficult decisions to exit our businesses in both Australia and the US as it is very important that we now focus our resources on the UK and Canada, where we have a strong established presence and where there are significant opportunities to grow market share and deliver profitable growth for shareholders.”
The company said it expects both of its exits are expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
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