Seek, the Australian jobs listings website, has reported a loss of $178 million from its continuing operations for the first half of the year. This comes after writing down the value of its investment in Chinese jobs platform Zhaopin by $356 million. Seek is a job marketplace that connects candidates with employers, and also provides education and career advice. The company operates across the Asia Pacific region, with a significant presence in Australia and New Zealand.
Despite the reported loss, Seek’s adjusted profit, excluding the impact of Zhaopin, saw a 35 per cent increase, reaching $104 million. The company’s net revenue also increased by 12 per cent to $601 million for the six months ending December 31. Furthermore, earnings before interest, tax, amortisation, and depreciation (EBITDA) jumped 19 per cent to $267 million. In light of these positive results, Seek declared a record interim dividend of 27¢ a share, marking a 13 per cent increase.
In other news, Seek announced its decision to sell its remaining stake in Employment Hero, an investment made through its venture capital division. This announcement follows a legal dispute between the two companies, which was resolved last month. Looking ahead to the full financial year, Seek anticipates net revenue to be in the range of $1.19 billion to $1.2 billion. The company also projects an EBITDA of $530 million to $550 million, with an adjusted profit expected to fall between $195 million and $215 million.
