IPGA has strong start to 2010 with record number of Agents joining
IPGA Ltd (ASX: IPP), the owner of Asia’s No. 1 network of property portal sites under the iProperty umbrella brand (www.iproperty.com), today released its 4C statement with the result underlying the continued investment in the growth of the business. In March 2010, the Company recorded its largest number of new customer sign ups and is on track to better this record in April.
“We have had a very strong start to the year with excellent growth in the number of new agents subscribing to our websites in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. These are our three core markets. The record we set for new customer growth in March looks like being bettered again in April and this has coincided with a record number of consumers visiting our websites” said IPGA CEO, Shaun Di Gregorio.
“We are continuing to invest in the growth of our business particularly in the area of sales and marketing where we have doubled the size of our sales force and launched consumer marketing campaigns in each country. To support this growth we are very focused on improving the skills and capabilities of our people, becoming more innovative in the products we are developing and improving our IT infrastructure. This is all focused on building upon the market leading positions that we have established in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore” commented Di Gregorio
“We recently raised AU$2.5 million in a rights issue to fund our further growth. We have a very clear strategy and the business is very focused on executing the plan we have in place. Over the last three months we have improved our ability to sign new customers, become more proactive in our marketing and increased our innovation levels with product releases like the iPhone app in Malaysia and the revamp of our site in Hong Kong; gohome.com.hk” added Di Gregorio
“It’s a very exciting time for the business” said Di Gregorio.
Former REA Group General Manager, Shaun Di Gregorio, was appointed as CEO of IPGA Ltd in January 2010.
IPGA Delivers Strong Growth in Core Online Advertising Business in 2009
IPGA Limited (ASX:IPP), the owner and operator of market leading real estate portals in Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore, today announced revenues of $4.05 million and a loss of $1.32 million from continuing operations for the full year 2009.
| AU$ millions | 2009 | 2008 | Growth |
| Revenues from Continuing Operations | 4.05 | 4.13 | (2.0%) |
| NPAT from Continuing Operations | (1.32) | (0.54) | (143.5%) |
| Operational Cash Flow | (0.75) | (1.15) | 34.3% |
Underlying the slight decrease in revenue was a 50.1% growth in the core online advertising revenue from $1.54 million to $2.39 million. Offsetting the growth in online advertising was the under performance of the magazine business in Malaysia and a reduction in the scale of exhibitions staged by the events business.
IPGA Appoints New Director and Chairman
February 4, 2010 – IPGA Ltd (ASX: IPP), owner of Asia’s No. 1 network of property websites under the iProperty.com brand (www.iproperty.com), announced today a number of changes to the composition and structure of its Board of Directors.
Non-Executive Director, Simon Baker has been appointed Chairman of the Board, with former Executive Chairman, Patrick Grove, moving to a Non-Executive role, and assuming the title of Deputy Chairman. The Board has also elected a new Director, Luke Elliott, to join its ranks.
Said Baker, “It’s an honor to take over the Chairmanship of IPGA. The business has established itself as a leader in online real estate advertising in the region and is well positioned to take advantage of the rapid growth online property advertising in Asia. I look forward to working with the Board and the Company’s management to realise IPGA’s tremendous potential.”
Former REA Group Senior Manager Joins IPGA as CEO
January 11, 2010 – IPGA Ltd (ASX: IPP), the owner of Asia’s No. 1 network of property portal sites under the iProperty umbrella brand (www.iproperty.com), today announced today that Shaun Di Gregorio has joined as Chief Executive Officer. Shaun was formerly the head of the Australian operations of the REA Group (2005-2008) and the General Manager of the REA Group’s international businesses (2008-2009).
“We are extremely excited Shaun is joining us. He is one of the most experienced Senior Managers in the global online real estate industry. During his 7 years at the REA Group (ASX: REA), revenues grew from A$6m to A$167m and the share price increased from A$0.15 to A$7.40. Shaun was an integral part of the leadership team that made it happen.” said Patrick Grove, Executive Chairman of IPGA Ltd.
iProperty.com beefs up Senior Management Team
The iProperty.com Group (www.iproperty.com), Asia’s leading network of property portals owned by IPGA Limited (ASX: IPP) (www.ipgalimited.com), has announced the addition of two key management team members – Denise Chu from Monster.com.hk and Matt Allanson from REA Group (Realestate.com.au).
Denise Chu, former Sales Director at Monster.com.hk, has been appointed as General Manager of its Hong Kong operations – the GoHome.com.hk network (www.gohome.com.hk). Meanwhile, Matt Allanson, former National Manager of Major Accounts (Commercial) at the REA Group, joins the group as Regional Head of Business Development and will be working with each country manager and all sales teams to drive up sales revenues across the group.
Prior to joining iProperty.com, Denise headed the sales team at Monster.com.hk. During her tenure there, she was responsible for developing and leading a team to grow its online sales footprint in new and existing markets. She was also in charge of expanding the business across the Greater China Region as well as driving regional and global deals for the company. Some of her notable achievements at Monster.com.hk include achieving the title of ‘Top Performer in year 2007’ and successfully developing a new sector in 2006 which generated strong revenue growth for the Hong Kong business. Denise holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a major in Accounting and Finance from the University of Hong Kong and a Master’s Degree in Communication and New Media from the City University of Hong Kong.
As the National Manager of Major Accounts at REA Group, Matt worked specifically on its commercial property portal helping to build it into a dominant and profitable market leader. Some of his key achievements during his tenure there include working across the merger and business migration of www.propertylook.com.au; controlling strategic and exclusive partnership agreements with CB Richard Ellis, Colliers, Knight Frank, Jones Lang LaSalle and Savills; online brand development. With more than 10 years of experience in new media under his belt, Matt Allanson has a deep history in growing internet based retail, wholesale and property businesses, has been a fulltime representative level Sportsman and is currently studying an MBA at Deakin University. The REA Group is the operator of Australia’s biggest residential and commercial real estate websites, and own online real estate properties across the world.
Patrick Grove, Executive Chairman of the iProperty.com Group said, “Both Denise and Matt are star players in their fields, with stellar track records and a wealth of very relevant experience. I am confident that the addition of these two veterans to the team will be instrumental to bringing the Group to the next level, helping us achieve our aggressive growth targets and further consolidating our position as Asia’s dominant No. 1 online property group. We are very excited to have Denise and Matt on board and warmly welcome them to the iProperty.com family”.
Both Denise and Matt will be reporting directly to the group’s Chief Executive Officer, Ken Tsurumaru.
The iProperty.com Group is Asia’s No. 1 online property group, with leading property websites in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India and the Philippines. Its network of websites attracts over one million unique visitors every month. It is part of Australian Securities Exchange-listed IPGA Limited (www.ipgalimited.com), (ASX: IPP). In 2009, the iProperty.com Group made history by winning the highly prestigious CNBC Arabiya Asia Pacific Property Awards in the “Best Property Portal” category for six of its websites – Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India, Philippines and iLuxuryasia.com.
