The growth of Propel Funeral Partners of Australia and New Zealand is apparent when you look at the company’s financial report covering the 1st-Half of 2024, ending on December 31, 2023.  In looking at the report you will see that, what is now believed to be the South Pacific’s largest “publicly-held” death care operating company, shows an increase in gross revenue of almost AUS $ 103 million as compared to AUS $ 83.8 million for the Prior Corresponding Period (PCP).  That’s an increase of over 23% in revenue.

 

Operating EBITDA is also up over 18% compared to the Prior Corresponding Period. . . and funeral case volume is also up over 17%.  You can find that information from this visual power point presentation about the 1st-Half results.

 

However, as good as those aspects of the report look. . . in looking a little deeper you will see that much of that increase comes from recently acquired businesses as the company comments that while “total funeral volumes were 10,637, up 17.4% on the PCP, comparable funeral volumes contracted by 9.8% on the PCP.”

 

Propel does illuminate a little about the contraction and say going forward they look to the contraction being temporary because:

• Prior period declines have rebounded quickly;
• The unusually benign winter flu season; and
• The growing and ageing populations in Australia and New Zealand.

 

On a more positive note, I noticed that Propel’s Average Revenue per Funeral (ARF) had moved up 4.5% overall and 6.0% on a comparative basis. . which seems to indicate that the companies existing funeral homes have been able to increase their prices.  In countries where the cremation rate is 70% (Australia) and 75% (New Zealand) the ability to increase the ARF in cremation cases, where many now are in the Direct Cremation category, is impressive.  It gives hope to cremation providers that the right approach to consumers may be more financially rewarding than many think.

 

From the power-point presentation data, it appears that Average Revenue per Funeral has been increased by over 10% since 2021.

 

Other items we learned from the power-point presentation:

• The population of Australia and New Zealand is aging much like the United States demographics.  Death volumes in Australia are expected to increase 2.9% from 2030 to 2040.  In New Zealand they are expected to increase in the same time period by 2.1

 

• Australian/New Zealand death care providers are consolidating.  Independents are believed to have a 70% market share, down from a 74% market share in 2015.  In the same time period, Propel Funeral Partners believes that they have went from 1% to 9% and they believe the recently taken private largest provider of death care in Australia/New Zealand, InvoCare has dropped from 25% to 21% market share.

 

• Propel Funeral Partners operates 187 locations in Australia and New Zealand.

 

• If Propel Funeral Partners would have the same amount of revenue in the 2nd half of 2024 as they did in the first half they would total approximately AUS $ 206 million in annual revenue.  With exchange rates taken into consideration, that would put Propel at about 1/3 the size, based on revenue, of the Carriage Services and Park Lawn Corporation organizations.

 

Here is the Propel Funeral Partners website from where you can glean more information.

 

More information from the world of Death Care:

• New funeral home, cremation center in St. George aims to be a place of peace for those in mourning.  St. GEorge NEws (UT)
• Listen:  Can you afford to die?  Exploring alternatives to traditional funeral services.  San Antonio Report (TX)
• County debates granting funds for cemetery.  Fairmont Sentinel (MN)
• The growing industry of green burials.  Voice report and print article.  WGCU – NPR (FL)

 

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