Key Highlights

  • Revenue rose 7% to $406.9 million and EBITDA rose 12% to $151.7 million.
  • Australia segment EBITDA was $192.8 million, with a Margin of 55.8%.
  • Net Debt fell 35% to $158.7 million and Leverage was 1.0 times, down from 1.8 times.
  • An IPART draft report proposed a 20% cut to regulated electronic lodgement network operator Revenue from FY28.

What does PEXA Group's (ASX:PXA) FY26 result say about a Business that runs most of Australia's property settlements? The company reported on 28 August 2026, for the year ended 30 June 2026, that revenue rose 7 per cent to $406.9 million and EBITDA rose 12 per cent to $151.7 million, while a pending regulatory review and softer forward guidance frame the year ahead.

PEXA (ASX:PXA) operates the electronic exchange used for property transactions in Australia, and it is building a presence in the United Kingdom. Its results therefore reflect two different stories: a mature, high-margin Australian exchange and a loss-making international investment.

How the business earns its revenue

The Australian exchange earns a fee for each transaction settled on its platform, including refinances and sales. Volumes depend on housing activity and lending conditions, and revenue per transaction depends on pricing and product mix.

In FY26 the Australian segment processed 4.7 million transactions, up 6.4 per cent, with average revenue per transaction of $80.6, up 2.2 per cent. Segment revenue was $345.6 million, up 8 per cent. The company said market coverage was 90 per cent, unchanged from the prior year.

Group financial results

All figures here are from the company's FY26 results release, in Australian dollars. Group EBITDA margin was 37.3 per cent, up 1.7 percentage points. Core NPATA, a non-IFRS measure, rose 35 per cent to $65.3 million.

Statutory results were more mixed. Net profit after tax from continuing operations was $19.2 million, against a $65.6 million loss in FY25. After a $35.1 million loss from discontinued operations, mainly impairments linked to the exit from Digital Solutions, the statutory net loss was $15.9 million, compared with a $76.1 million loss a year earlier.

Free Cash Flow rose 39 per cent to $93.5 million. Group Capital Expenditure was $51.6 million. No Dividend was mentioned in the release.

Australia versus the UK

Australia's segment EBITDA was $192.8 million, up 12 per cent, with a margin of 55.8 per cent. Operating expenses of $107.7 million were broadly flat, which helped margins.

International, which the company reports as the UK, is the opposite. Revenue was $61.3 million, up 1 per cent, or up 12 per cent excluding foreign exchange and a low-margin search contract that ceased. Gross margin rose 15 per cent to $36.9 million, but operating expenses rose 11 per cent to $78.0 million, leaving an EBITDA loss of $41.1 million versus $37.8 million in FY25.

Operating cash outflow was $57.6 million. Remortgage volumes on the Optima platform rose 26 per cent and Smoove volumes rose 11 per cent, though the company noted remortgage market penetration fell 1.2 percentage points. The next milestone is NatWest Sale and Purchase capability, due in the third quarter of FY27.

Balance sheet

Net debt fell by $85.8 million, or 35 per cent, to $158.7 million, after $92.4 million of repayments. Leverage, measured as net debt to EBITDA, was 1.0 times, down from 1.8 times, and Interest Cover rose to 9.6 times from 6.7 times. Total debt facilities are $330 million, maturing between July 2029 and July 2031.

Regulation and FY27 guidance

The most significant external issue is the review by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART). A July 2026 draft report proposed a 20 per cent cut to regulated electronic lodgement network operator revenue from FY28, with CPI-linked increases thereafter. PEXA has said it has material concerns about the methodology, and the final report is expected by 30 September 2026. We have not verified whether it has since been released.

For FY27 the company guided to revenue of $385 million to $415 million, an EBITDA margin of 31.5 to 33.5 per cent, NPAT of $5 million to $20 million and capital expenditure of $45 million to $55 million. International operating cash outflow is expected at $55 million to $65 million.

These are management's expectations, not results. The company said Australian macroeconomic uncertainty is expected to dampen volumes, revenue and margins, and that volumes softened in July 2026. We also note that the guidance table in the release shows FY26 NPAT of $26.3 million, which does not match the $19.2 million statutory continuing figure and is not explained in the release.

In our reading, the guidance implies a step down from FY26. The midpoint of the revenue range is $400 million, below the $406.9 million reported, and the midpoint EBITDA margin of 32.5 per cent compares with 37.3 per cent in FY26. That is arithmetic on the company's own ranges, not a forecast, and the release did not itemise every driver of the margin change.

The Digital Solutions exit is also worth noting. Treating it as a discontinued operation simplifies the continuing group, but the associated $35.1 million loss shows that earlier Diversification carried a cost.

What to monitor

Investors may want to follow the IPART final report and any government response, since the draft proposal would affect regulated revenue from FY28. Transaction volumes through the year, particularly after July's softness, will indicate whether the guidance range looks achievable.

In the UK, the pace of adoption, the NatWest rollout and cash burn relative to the guided range are key. Russell Cohen, the chief executive, is in his first full financial year, and the strategy also includes the PEXA Clear compliance product and a capital-light New Zealand pilot. Progress on each will be reported in future results, and the balance between Investment and returns remains an open question for shareholders to weigh.