‘We are benefiting from the inflationary environment’: Airtasker share price rockets 16%

The Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART) share price is surging today after the company released its latest quarterly update.

The local services platform has seen its shares soar by 15.79% to 33 cents at the time of writing.

In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is currently up by 0.55%.

What caused the Airtasker share price to fly higher?

The company told investors how it performed in the three months to 30 June 2022. Here are some of the highlights helping to boost the Airtasker share price today:

• Gross marketplace volume rose 38.3% year on year to $54.4 million
• Revenue increased by 30.6% to $9 million
• International gross marketplace volume (GMV) rose 112% to an annualised run rate of $9.5 million in May 2022
• UK GMV jumped 104% year on year
• US-posted task growth increased by 49% quarter on quarter
• Airtasker finished the period with $28.2 million of cash

Airtasker said the “strong result” demonstrated the resilience of its business model. It achieved growth despite headwinds including a labour shortage and unprecedented levels of rainfall and flooding that have impacted many of Airtasker’s city-level marketplaces.

International growth

In the US, the company said it’s in the phase of “zero to one”. This means creating a steadily increasing flow of job opportunities, which it calls posted tasks. As mentioned, US posted tasks increased 49% quarter on quarter.

Turning to the UK, Airtasker noted it is in the “one to 100” stage of growth. It’s trying to balance supply and demand to grow marketplace activity and grow GMV. During the quarter, both demand (posted tasks) and supply (offers made by active taskers) more than doubled.

These two countries could be important for the future of the Airtasker share price.

What else happened during the quarter?

Airtasker has completed the acquisition of the Oneflare business, which was a competitor in Australia.

Oneflare is “performing ahead of expectations” and the integration is underway. Airtasker is undertaking a number of initiatives to extract the combined potential network effects and achieve cost efficiencies. These initiatives are “tracking to plan”.

To fund this deal, Airtasker carried out a capital raising.

Optimistic about the future

Airtasker says it has a good amount of capital for growth. It boasts that it has “strong” gross margins with a low cost to operate, and some of its key costs (payment and insurance premiums) aren’t linked to inflation.

Even so, it’s looking to reduce its fixed cost base to ensure a “clear path to sustained positive cash flow“.

Commenting on the results fuelling the Airtasker share price today, CEO and co-founder Tim Fung said:

I’m super pleased to share that Airtasker has achieved another strong quarter of marketplace growth with total GMV up 38% on prior corresponding period and both our US and UK marketplaces more than doubling year on year. With $31.8 million of cash and equity receivables, a clear path to positive cash flow and a business model which could accelerate in an inflationary environment – we’re looking forward to continued strong growth for FY23.

Airtasker share price snapshot

With today’s rise, the Airtasker share price is up by almost 14% over the past month. However, it is down 61% this year to date, and 66% over the past 12 months.

The post ‘We are benefiting from the inflationary environment’: Airtasker share price rockets 16% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Airtasker Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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