Online marketplace TradeMe has delivered a record revenue of NZ$250 million, an increase of 7 per cent over the previous year, driven largely by the strong performance of the company’s classifieds business which saw double-digit revenue growth.

Net profit after tax rose by just under 4 per cent to NZ$97 million, while a special dividend of 22 cents per share will be paid on 20 September.

Trade Me chief executive Jon Macdonald said the company trades in a competitive environment, but continues to deliver growth and good returns for investors.

“We’re well placed to meet the challenges in front of us and continue to grow, and we see a lot of opportunity,” Macdonald said.

“We’re also pleased to deliver a result in line with what we forecast at the end of FY17 and reiterated in March 2018.”

Growth in TradeMe’s classifieds business was largely impacted by the motors division, which grew by 12.7 per cent to a revenue of NZ$71.7 million, the property division, which rose 10.2 per cent to deliver NZ$37.6 million, and the jobs division, which increased 14.1 per cent to NZ$31.7 million.

TradeMe’s advertising grew by 3.7 per cent to NZ$19.5 million, driven by new inventory placements and good yield management, while revenue from payments rose 6 per cent to NZ$6.1 million as a result of the company’s payment offering, Ping, being used for approximately one third of daily marketplace purchases in June 2018.

TradeMe’s ‘other’ category, however, fell by 25 per cent, partly due to the divestment of TravelBug and BookIt in December 2016 and a reduction of third party hosting activities.

Future outlook

TradeMe forecasts solid revenue and profit growth for FY19, with revenue to grow between 5 and 8 per cent from FY18, and operating profit after tax to grow at a similar rate.

The company qualified its targets, saying they are contingent on wider economic conditions, such as employer and consumer sentiment and real estate market volumes.