Embargoed for release at 07.00 hours, 8th May 2013
RIGHTMOVE PLC
INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT
Rightmove plc ("Rightmove"), the UK's number one property website, today
publishes its Interim Management Statement for the period from 1st January 2013
to 8th May 2013. Financial and operating information relates to the period 1st
January 2013 to 30th April 2013 unless otherwise stated.
Current trading
The healthy start to 2013 that we reported at our Full Year results in March
has continued through the period:
* Rightmove traffic is setting new records and is up over 20% on the same
period in 2012
* The number of Rightmove enquiries is also at record levels with an 80%
increase in April year on year
* Average Revenue per Advertiser* (ARPA) has shown healthy growth as a result
of sales of additional advertising products and price increases. This means
we have made good progress in achieving an increase in ARPA in the region
of £70 for 2013 on the 2012 average of £529 per month
* Over 80% of agents and new homes developers are now taking at least one
additional product and 35% of their spend in April was on additional
advertising products
* The overall number of advertisers at the end of April was 18,526, up 1% on
December 2012.
Activity on Rightmove during the first four months is up over 20% on a year
ago. April was our busiest month ever with 1.25 billion pages viewed. The
increased traffic coupled with the roll-out of local geographic telephone
numbers led to a record number of enquiries for our customers, up 80% on April
2012.
Mobile traffic on the latest releases of our Rightmove apps (iPhone, iPad and
Android apps) and optimised mobile website has continued its rapid rate of
growth. The latest version of our iPhone/iPad app, released at the start of the
year, has already been downloaded nearly 3 million times.
We ran our TV advertising campaign again in January and February and in April
we launched our new TV campaign featuring Blondie's `Dreaming'.
Paid site traffic continues to be negligible showing the ongoing strength of
Rightmove's brand recognition and further success in optimising our organic
search performance.
Agency
Agency ARPA has continued to grow compared to the same period in 2012 as a
result of further adoption of additional advertising products, including the
new microsite product, and price increases. Rightmove agency membership at the
end of April stood at 15,495, an increase of 251 branches since the start of
the year.
New homes
New homes ARPA has increased substantially as a result of sales of additional
advertising products, healthy demand for email campaigns and price increases.
The number of developments at the end of April stood at 2,315, a decrease of
121 developments since the start of the year.
Other businesses
Our data services business and overseas homes advertising business, both modest
contributors in terms of overall revenue, continue to trade healthily. The
number of overseas customers at the end of April stood at 716, an increase of
126 customers since the start of the year.
Costs
Operating costs remain low and we are on target for between £35m to £36m of
operating cost as communicated at the Full Year Results in March.
Return of capital and financial position
As previously announced, the final dividend for 2013 of 14p per share will be
paid on 7th June 2013 to members on the register on 10th May 2013, subject to
approval at today's AGM. To date, the Company has acquired and cancelled
750,000 shares in 2013 at a cost of £13.1m. As at 30 April 2013 Rightmove had £
18.4m of cash.
Outlook
With healthy growth in average spend per advertiser so far this year and
assuming there is no significant deterioration in the UK housing market, the
Board remains confident of meeting its expectations.
Contact:
For Nick McKittrick (CEO) or Robyn Perriss (FD) please contact Rightmove plc
Press Office on 07976 717569.
* Agency offices and new homes developments
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Obtains access to the information in a personal capacity;
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Uses the information solely in relation to the management of their personal funds and not as a trader to the public or for the investment of corporate funds;
Does not distribute, republish or otherwise provide any information or derived works to any third party in any manner or use or process information or derived works for any commercial purposes.
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