A year after Zillow, Trulia files for IPO
The company reports that it generated $38.5 million in revenue in 2011, but lost $6.2 million during the year.
The stock market is getting another home listing Web site.
Trulia today filed an S-1 Registration Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, kicking off the process of holding an IPO and offering its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "TRLA."
According to the documents filed with the SEC, Trulia generated $38.5 million in revenue last year, but lost $6.2 million. During the first six months of 2012, its revenue is way up, jumping to $29 million from $16.2 million during the same period last year. That said, the company has posted a net loss of $7.6 million so far this year, widening last year's $2.6 million loss.
According to Trulia, it currently has 63.9 million outstanding shares of common stock. The company's directors and executives combine to make 49.9 percent ownership in the company, including 13.5 percent held by its co-founder and CEO Peter Flint. Accel Partners and Sequoia Capital are among the venture capital firms that own a large chunk of the remaining shares.
So far, none of the owners have made decisions on how many shares they'll offer up when Trulia goes public -- a common practice until the company gets closer to pricing its IPO.
Trulia has established itself as a relatively popular service for home buyers. Users can check out listings, see what was recently sold, and evaluate property values. It also lists properties for rent, neighborhood information, and community insights. According to Trulia, it has more than 20 million unique visitors access its site each month. A question-and-answer section designed for community members to share their real estate expertise has tallied more than 5 million contributions.
Trulia's IPO announcement comes just about a year after one of its competitors, Zillow, went public. In the last year alone, Zillow has watched its shares soar 50 percent to land at $35.88.
From a financial perspective, Zillow and Trulia aren't all that different. Last year, Zillow generated $66 million in revenue and a $1.1 million profit. During the first six months of this year, Zillow has tallied sales of about $50 million. Its profit is $3 million.
Trulia will now set forth on the sometimes-long process of the SEC auditing its financial reporting. The company has not said when it hopes to go public.
J.P. Morgan and RBC Capital Markets are among the companies underwriting the offering.