hipages Group (ASX:HPG) executives said the company delivered “profitable growth” in the first half ended Dec. 31, 2025, as it continued its shift from a marketplace-only model toward a software-led platform that combines lead generation with job management tools and a growing range of services.
CEO and co-founder Roby Sharon-Zipser said the group achieved double-digit top-line growth, EBITDA margin expansion, and a “significant uplift” in free cash generation during the period. Chief Finance and Operating Officer Jaco Jonker added that New Zealand delivered “exceptional growth” in its first full year of post-migration optimization following a move to a full subscription model.
Financial performance: revenue growth and record EBITDA margin
Cash generation was a key theme of the presentation. Operating cash flow rose 37% to AUD 12.9 million, and free cash flow increased to AUD 4.3 million. hipages ended the half with AUD 31.1 million in cash and funds on deposit and no debt, according to Jonker.
- Subscription businesses: up slightly to 35,000
- ARPU: up 10% to AUD 2,497
- Marketplace connections: 1.4 million business-household connections, down 4% versus PCP
Management attributed the decline in connections partly to subdued consumer confidence in Australia.
Australia: stable subscribers, softer connections, continued ARPU growth
In Australia, Jonker said business-household connections softened and were down 5% versus the PCP. He cited a 2% dip in job volumes linked to subdued consumer confidence, along with a “short-term impact” from mid-period updates to the matching engine that were later recalibrated. Connection rates for households remained “strong” at 83% after accounting for typical first-half/second-half seasonality, he said.
On monetization, hipages said all Australian trade businesses have now migrated to its new platform pricing plans. Australian ARPU increased 9% on pricing optimization and “planned sanctions,” while subscriber numbers were broadly stable at 32,200. Jonker highlighted that the number of businesses served over the last 12 months reached 48,600, which management described as a reactivation and cross-sell opportunity for value-added services.
MRR retention was stable at 58%. Jonker said the company sees upside as adoption of job management tools deepens. Monthly active users of job management features are approaching 15% of the subscriber base; management estimated about 5,000 MAUs by month-end for February to date. The company said early data supports its thesis that greater job management usage improves retention outcomes.
New Zealand: subscription model drives 40%+ ARPU and revenue growth
In New Zealand, management said the first full year of post-migration optimization produced revenue and ARPU growth accelerating strongly, both up more than 40% year-over-year. Jonker said subscription business numbers rose 17% year-over-year, reflecting what the company called “quality of demand,” while total businesses served declined as a lag effect of the migration to full subscription.
Sharon-Zipser said New Zealand remains a smaller part of the group but argued the results validate hipages’ subscription model. He said the strategy there will mirror Australia’s, including introducing the platform solution and rolling out job management in New Zealand “probably by the end of FY 2027,” which he said would influence subscription pricing and packaging.
Strategy and product: job management upgrades and expanded AI push
Sharon-Zipser said hipages has evolved into “a single platform that now layers job management and a vast growing range of services.” He said the company plans to expand its total addressable market by adding new services for trade business customers through partnerships and bolt-on acquisitions, and to monetize households in the short term through perks and offers, and later through broader home management and improvement solutions.
Product updates discussed included Smart Quotes with AI-generated market rate guidance, scheduling that syncs to a user’s personal calendar, and an estimates function that sends semi-automated estimate SMS responses using templates to improve response speed and conversion.
AI was framed across “search, product, and operations.” Sharon-Zipser said hipages is optimizing its website content for discoverability in AI-driven channels (including Google’s AI Overview and AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Perplexity) and is tracking visibility in those channels. He also said hipages has launched a custom “hipages ChatGPT app” that allows ChatGPT users to search the hipages directory and link through to directory profiles and job posting.
On operations, he said AI workflows are being embedded across sales, customer service, and engineering, including call summaries, “next best action” suggestions, automated QA, prototyping, bug triaging, and code review, with an expectation of improved efficiency and “further margin benefits.”
Outlook: revenue range lowered to reflect macro conditions, cash targets maintained
For FY 2026, hipages is targeting total revenue of AUD 90 million to AUD 91 million, which Sharon-Zipser said reflects macroeconomic conditions affecting marketplace activity. The company is targeting EBITDA margins of 24% to 26% and free cash flow of AUD 8 million to AUD 10 million.
In Q&A, management acknowledged the revenue guidance was lower than previously guided. Sharon-Zipser said the update reflects “softness” the company is sensing in the macro environment, with particular softness in Victoria. He also said a matching algorithm change contributed to weaker performance in the second quarter and had an impact on MRR “on a go-forward basis,” though he said activity returned to normal in January and February.
Pressed on how much of the guidance change was macro versus algorithm-related, Sharon-Zipser said he would “probably put it at 50/50” at a high level. He said the company learned that reducing description length in the job posting flow—intended to make posting easier—hurt matching performance because detailed descriptions are critical to the algorithm. He said the company reverted to the prior flow and saw a “very quick recovery.”
Jonker said marketing costs are expected to be fairly consistent between the first and second halves, and that historically about 60% of marketing spend is attributed to the consumer (homeowner) side, with the remainder aimed at tradie acquisition.
On capital management, Sharon-Zipser said the board regularly discusses options such as a share buyback but has not approved one “at this stage.” He said the company is focused on funding organic growth and maintaining capacity for inorganic opportunities, adding that hipages is “actively in market” pursuing M&A that supports strategy or accelerates growth.
About hipages Group (ASX:HPG)
Hipages Group Holdings Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an online tradie marketplace and software as a service (SaaS) provider in Australia and New Zealand. The company offers hipages, an online tradie marketplace that provides local tradies with job leads and grow their business; and Builderscrack, an online home repair and renovation marketplace that enables homeowners to connect with local tradies. It provides Tradiecore, a workflow management SaaS platform that eases the burden of everyday admin for trade businesses; and Proptech Labs, a property management productivity software.
