The Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART) share price is rising today as it released its annual report for investors.
An annual report is an opportunity for management to outline how the previous financial year went and plans for the next financial year.
FY21 performance
Airtasker brought investor attention to how it beat the FY21 guidance that was given in the initial public offering (IPO) prospectus, despite various impacts caused by COVID-19 restrictions in markets like Sydney and Melbourne.
In FY21, it saw gross marketplace volume (GMV) of $153.1 million, compared to the prospectus forecast of $143.7 million. This led to revenue of $26.6 million, beating the prospectus forecast of $24.5 million.
The company had 415,000 unique paying customers, compared to 405,000 in the prospectus forecast.
Whilst the business is growing organically, it also looked to accelerate its international growth with the acquisition of the assets of Zaarly, a US-based local services marketplace.
International growth and FY22 comments
International growth could be an important factor for the Airtasker share price over time.
Management said that the Zaarly acquisition is the cornerstone of its geographic expansion in the USA, which it expects to underpin "more significant" GMV and revenue growth in the second half of FY22. Airtasker said that the integration is progressing well.
As of today, Airtasker has launched in three US locations – Kansas City, Dallas and Miami.
The company also said that new growth initiatives have also seen "marked" increases in traffic through its London marketplace with "more than 200% compared to the same period last year". This was comparing the fourth quarter of FY21 compared to the fourth quarter of FY20.
Airtasker management said that the size of the international market represents "significant opportunities" for the company, the ASX share said it's "well positioned" to capitalise on after the rising of capital. The UK and US alone represent a total addressable market of around $570 billion, according to Airtasker.
The company is planning to use its cash, which included $5.5 million of operating cashflow from FY21, to replicate what it's built in Australia to establish new marketplaces across the world.
Management said it's expecting to see a "strong V-shaped" recovery once restrictions ease in Australia.
It's going to ramp up its investing across three pillars – scaling its brand and growth marketing, iterating and expanding the Airtasker superstore product initiative, and international expansion with a focus on "igniting" city-level marketplaces across the UK and the US.
What else may be impacting the Airtasker share price?
In the annual report, management said that the business is "infinitely horizontal", meaning people can get almost any task done, such as handyman jobs, domestic cleaning and business administration, as well as more complex work like architectural design, tax consultancy and legal advice. Airtasker also referred to new service industries like flat pack furniture assembly, date night planning and spider removal.
Airtasker also noted its capital light model. Plus, it has a gross profit margin of 93%.
The company also showed graphic where international GMV is growing faster than Australian GMV did at the same point after inception. It said that the global (excluding Australia) year four opportunity represents a June 2022 annualised run rate of between $8 million to $10 million of GMV.
