Mad Paws growth run continues as e-commerce leg delivers revenue boost

A quadrupling in revenue from pet services platform Mad Paws’ (ASX: MPA) e-commerce arm has landed the company yet another strong quarter, with the group announcing 189 per cent total revenue growth for the March quarter.

In total, group operating revenues were $6.1 million, with the majority coming from the company’s e-commerce and subscription businesses at $4.7 million - a 316 per cent uplift year-on-year.

It follows three prior quarters of strong growth for the petsitting business co-founded by 2022 Sydney Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award - Specialist Services winner Alexis Soulopolous, including a solid December half when the company hit $12 million in total revenue.

In the latest quarter ending 31 March, Mad Paws’ marketplace operating revenue rose by 44 per cent to $1.4 million, and the company says it is on track for its operating EBITDA break-even target by the end of the financial year.

“We are very excited about our results this quarter as we have been able to maintain our growth trajectory following on from the record high trading results we recorded in the December quarter, which is traditionally our busiest time,” Mad Paws co-founder and CEO Justus Hammer said.

“We are seeing a more consistent flow of revenue across the group with the e-commerce trading in particular offsetting the quieter months for the marketplace of January and February before that ramped up again leading into Easter.”

During the quarter, the company bundled its brands including food and nutrition business Dinner Bowl, pet toys retailer Waggly and pet beds purveyor Sash under one homepage; a move Hammer said had already resulted in an uptick in cross-sales.

“The release of our new Mad Paws homepage as a first step in our journey of consolidating our brands and creating a more concise user experience has been very successful and we have seen already an uptick in cross-sells resulting from it,” Hammer said.

“We are also very excited about pet stepper, our rich data pet profile. We’ve already acquired over 70,000 pet profiles of which 50 per cent have over 50 data points per pet.

“This is just the beginning of Mad Paws utilising the potential of data rich pet profiles to drive our cross-sell strategy for the group.”

Mad Paws says it continued to make strong progress towards a goal of operating on an EBITDA-positive basis despite operating earnings in 3Q being impacted by the lower seasonal booking period and Easter holiday timing.

“Moving forward in 2023, Mad Paws is seeking to deliver long term sustainable value by improving customer growth and retention, while at the same time building share of wallet,” Mad Paws said.

“Mad Paws is focused on continuing to grow its share of the Australian pet market and achieving profitability in the medium term.

“The key short-term goal is to create a single platform for customers to book or buy any of the Mad Paws products or services reducing friction for our customers and allowing us to cross sell existing customers to increase our share of wallet.”

The company added that it was also in the process of upgrading its warehouse facility for the Pet Chemist business, which should help it further increase the subsidiary’s product range and improve operating efficiencies.