McGrath (MEA) tumbling faster than house prices
Stock McGrath (MEA) $0.23 as at 25/03/2019 Event Ouch!!! The real estate agent tumbled to record lows again this morning, while being set to post a record low close this afternoon since listing at $2.10 back in late 2015. The stock has never traded higher than the offer price, being stuck in a downtrend since it debuted on the ASX. Today’s hit follows a trading update the company tried to sneak past the market, posting it near 5pm on a Friday afternoon. The note to the market detailed the impact that falling house prices are continuing to have on the stock – the same reason it blamed for the loss of $2.5m at the underlying EBITDA line when they posted half year results in February. That EBITDA loss almost doubled in the first 2 months of this year, with the company saying that as at 28 February it had generated -$4.5m EBITDA for the eight months to Feb 28. So with 4 months left, the trend shows no signs of turning for McGrath – seasonally this half is weaker than the first and a federal election still to come will subdue volumes for the rest of the year. At this rate, MEA should post a full year EBITDA loss of over $7m. The company is now languishing with a market cap of just $43m. Down from around ~$350m at listing. McGrath (MEA) Chart
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