REA Group lifts full-year profit and payout

Property advertising group REA has improved full-year profit by 18 per cent after property prices soared during the pandemic.

The News Corp-owned company, which owns the realestate.com.au website, on Friday said net profit after tax climbed to $318 million.

Sales in Australia improved by 13 per cent and were a main contributor to overall revenue growth.

Investors will receive a fully franked final dividend of 72 cents per share. This is higher than the equivalent payout from last year of 55 cents per share.

The full-year dividend was 19 per cent higher on the previous one.

However the earnings did not meet shareholders’ expectations.

Shares were down 5.14 per cent to $158.68 at 1150 AEST.