Embargoed for release at 07.00 hours, 7th May 2014
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 2014
to 7th May 2014. Financial and operating information relates to the period
1st January 2014 to 30th April 2014 unless otherwise stated.
Current trading
The positive start to 2014 that we reported at our Full Year results at the end
of February has continued throughout the period:
* Our audience continues to grow, with page impressions up 14% on the same
period last year and we continue to be ranked in the top ten most popular
websites in the UK alongside global brands such as Google, Facebook,
YouTube, eBay and Amazon
* We generated a record 14.8 million enquiries for our customers, an increase
of 30% on the same period last year
* Average Revenue per Advertiser (ARPA) has shown healthy growth, reflecting
further adoption of our additional advertising products and packages and
the effect of increases to our membership fees
* The number of agency and new homes advertisers at the end of April stood at
18,743, up 2% on December 2013.
We continue to promote our brand in order to further increase our audience
reach for our customers. We ran a national TV campaign in January and February
and in April we launched our new `find your happy' national marketing campaign.
This cross-platform campaign includes outdoor, online and mobile advertising,
social media and a new national TV advert.
We set a new monthly record for traffic in January with 1.45 billion pages
viewed across all our platforms and a record 5.5 billion pages for the period.
The growth in traffic is being driven by mobile with our latest highly rated
mobile apps and mobile optimised website delivering over 2 billion pages. This
increase in traffic has generated a record number of over 3.5 million enquiries
per month for our customers, equating to more than one enquiry every second.
Agency & New Homes
ARPA for the period in our Agency and New Homes business units both increased
as a result of further adoption of additional advertising products and
packages, as well as membership fee price increases. Spending by our customers
on additional products and packages has driven the majority of the growth and
is up over 30% compared to the same period last year.
Agency membership at the end of April stood at 16,458, a 2% increase since the
start of the year, whilst the number of developments at the end of April stood
at 2,285, an increase of 1% since the start of the year.
Other businesses
Our data services, overseas homes and commercial businesses, all modest
contributors in terms of overall revenue, continue to trade healthily.
Return of capital and financial position
As previously announced, the final dividend for 2013 of 17p per share will be
paid on 6th June 2014 to members on the register on 9th May 2014, subject to
approval at today's AGM. Cash generation remains strong and to date this year,
the Company has acquired and cancelled 1.2m shares at a cost of £30.8m. Cash
balances as at 30th April 2014 were £6.9m.
Outlook
With healthy growth in average spend per advertiser so far this year and an
improving UK property market, the Board remains confident of meeting its
expectations for the year.
Nick McKittrick, CEO, said:
"Rightmove's popularity continues to grow, with traffic setting new records and
further increasing the market leading reach we provide for customers'
properties and brands. Our mobile apps and mobile optimised sites have proved
particularly effective in driving the growth in traffic resulting in 30% more
enquiries for our customers compared to the same period last year."
Media enquiries
Please contact Brunswick Group on 0207 404 5959
rightmove@brunswickgroup.com
Tim Danaher
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