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(Adds background, interim dividend, capex outlook)
Feb 19 (Reuters) - Australian property classifieds website Domain Holdings Australia Ltd DHG.AX said on Monday that it made a loss in its first half as a jump in expenses weighed on earnings.
The statutory net loss after tax was A$3.4 million ($2.69 million) for the six months to December, the company said in its first earnings update since being spun off by newspaper publisher Fairfax Media Ltd FXJ.AX in November.
The listing coincided, however, with the first signs of a softening in the property market after years of barnstorming price rises, particularly in the two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne.
Domain's expenses for the half year rose to A$105.1 million from A$37.6 million a year ago, the company said.
Domain's high-profile chief executive officer, Antony Catalano, also quit without warning last month, two months after the listing, citing family concerns. declared an interim dividend of 4 cents per share.
The company did not provide an interim profit forecast in its listing prospectus and there were no analyst estimates available.
($1 = 1.2655 Australian dollars)