Rightmove surges as it posts rise in first-half profit

Shares in online estate agent Rightmove surged on Wednesday as it posted a rise in first-half pre-tax profit and expressed confidence over the full year despite the impact of Brexit.

For the six months ended 30 June, pre-tax profit increased to £80.6m from £66.6m in 2015 as revenue grew to £107.9m from £93.1m.

The company lifted its interim dividend to 19p per share from 16p.

Rightmove said it saw strong traffic growth in the period, with visits up 15% to 127.5m per month and time on site up 9% to 1.05bn minutes per month.

Meanwhile, average revenue per advertiser rose a record £90 to £830 per month.

Chief executive officer Nick McKittrick said: “Whilst the economic outlook is more uncertain due to the result of the EU referendum, the visibility provided by our subscription model coupled with the value provided by our products and the strength of the Rightmove brand and traffic give us confidence in delivering expectations for the current year."

Rightmove said that although there was likely to be a period of economic uncertainty in the near term following Brexit, its “strong market position” and relationships with its customers continue to position it well, providing housing transaction volumes do not take a sharp downturn.

The group said trading in July has been in line with the strong monthly revenue achieved in the first half of the year, adding that it was confident of delivering expectations for the current year.

Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Rightmove has posted another impressive set of results, and if there is an economic slowdown ahead, Rightmove is entering it from a position of strength.

“A housing market downturn would affect Rightmove eventually, as it means could mean estate agencies closures, and problems for Rightmove pushing through price increases for its services. However it’s not been established that the housing market will be considerably damaged by Brexit, meanwhile low mortgage rates, weak supply, and the Help to Buy scheme should continue to support property prices.”

At 0910 BST, Rightmove shares were up 6.9% to 4,051p.