Rightmove shares slump despite strong results
Shares in property website Rightmove fell this morning despite the company reporting an increase in revenue and profits.
Rightmove’s share price dipped 5.6 per cent to 455p today as the firm announced its full-year results for 2018.
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The figures
Underlying operating profit was up 10 per cent to £203.3m and revenue also increased 10 per cent, driven by Rightmove’s agency and new homes businesses.
Earnings per share was 17.8 p and the housing platform announced a final dividend of 4p per share.
Why it’s important
The company said it remained confident over the outlook for the UK housing market despite uncertainties caused by Brexit. However, CMC Markets analyst David Madden said shares may have dipped on the news that the firm is “vigilant” over the UK’s departure from the European Union and investors will remember the post-EU referendum share price slump.
What the company said:
Chief executive Peter Brooks-Johnson said: “2018 was another strong year for Rightmove. We extended our market leadership and reinforced our position as the place consumers turn to first when thinking about moving home.
“In doing so, we demonstrated that Rightmore is a business which can continue to grow strongly even in uncertain times.
“We focus relentlessly on creating a more efficient marketplace, constantly innovating to provide deeper insights to our agent and developer customers and and even simpler, more intuitive user experience for home hunters.
“Visits and time spent on site both continued to grow, with over 1.5bn visits from consumers over the year.
“The resilience of our customer base is shown by our stable membership numbers, with particularly notable growth coming from New Homes developments. I’m excited by our plans for 2019 as we continue to focus on innovation to make home moving easier.”
What analysts said:
Read more: Rightmove faces FTSE 100 eviction as engineering firms climb, say analysts
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “Property listings website Rightmove enjoys an enviable position. Estate agents subscribe to Rightmove in order to put the properties they are looking to sell on the site.
“Because Rightmove has the most listings it is the one most prospective property buyers go to when looking for their next home. This makes it a must-have product for estate agents and results in significant pricing power.”