Leading rental portal, Rent.com.au has seen rising revenues last financial year, as it looks to grow its RentPay offering.
According to the company’s FY2024 results, the business achieved total revenue of $3.2 million, with its core search portal contributing $2.7 million and achieving a positive EBITDA of $0.2 million.
“Growth compared to same period last year was driven by advertising sales with key partnerships such as Mastercard and also internet service providers more than offsetting the losses from the building sector,” the company said.
However, the overall EBITDA ended with a $2 million net loss, primarily driven by losses from the RentPay service.
RentPay, which is designed to offer flexible payment options for tenants, generated $0.5 million in revenue but recorded EBITDA of -$2.1 million.
Despite these challenges, Rent.com.au saw success in other areas of its business.
“RentBond experienced a 49 per cent increase in revenue, while RentCheck saw a 10 per cent rise in adoption rates,” the company said.
The company’s emphasised the potential of RentPay suggesting it has huge upside potential.
“The size of the opportunity with RentPay is immense, all renters pay rent – over $60 billion worth a year,” the company said.
“With RentPay they can now get value, flexibility and control – making their rent money work for them.”
However, they acknowledged the need to improve the platform’s profitability and scaling operations.
The company also said it was pursuing several growth strategies to address these challenges.
These include onboarding large rent rolls, enhancing product offerings, and driving engagement through property managers.
The company said it had also successfully onboarded a rent roll of approximately 800 properties within a week during the last quarter.
The company is also focusing on increasing Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) on the RentPay platform, which is seen as crucial for long-term sustainability and profitability.
Looking ahead, Rent.com.au plans to expand payment options for tenants and introduce new features such as “ScoreBuilder” to help renters build credit.
The upcoming fiscal year is expected to be important for the company, with plans to introduce larger loan offers and an expanded bill payment service that includes cashback rewards.
While Rent.com.au continues to face profitability challenges, particularly with RentPay, the company remains optimistic about its future.
The management team believes that improvements in platform margins and scaling operations will be key to achieving sustainable growth and profitability in the coming years.
As the business moves forward, the company said it will need to balance its innovative product offerings with the need for financial sustainability.
The company said the success of its growth strategies and ability to monetise its large addressable market will be crucial factors in determining its long-term success in the market.
