Rightmove delivered to its shareholders a set of dazzling half-year results this morning, showing that its agents are now paying an average of £671 per month – a rise of 13% on the £593 per month they were paying last year.
With the number of advertisers up 3%, there are now 18,995 agents and developers using Rightmove.
Underlying profits are up 22% to £59.6m, with a profit margin of 74.1% – up from last year’s 73% margin. Profits after tax were up 36%, to £46.3m.
Revenues are also up, at £80.4n, compared with £67.2m last year – a rise of 20%. Rightmove says this is driven by a rise in the growth of spend on additional advertising profits.
In this morning’s repeort, it says page impressions on Rightmove are up 13%, to 8.1bn, with inquiries to its advertisers up 327%, to a record 22.3m.
Shareholders will benefit with an interim dividend up by 18% to 13p per share, from 11p last year.
Nick McKittrick, chief executive officer, said: “Rightmove’s popularity goes from strength to strength, with home hunters visiting more often and looking at more property than ever. On the back of this record traffic we’ve increased enquiries to our customers by over 25%.
“The importance of our brand to the British home moving public is stronger than ever with nine out of ten home movers wanting their property to be advertised on Rightmove.
“I am also delighted that the public continue to turn to us first for property information and can now be alerted within minutes of a property coming to market. Our newly released Instant Alerts are just one of the many innovations we’ve already released this year to provide the most engaging experience for home movers and the most effective advertising products, tools and insight reports to help our customers grow their businesses.”
Under the heading “uncertainties, threats and risks”, it says that Rightmove could be vulnerable to greater competition without mentioning Agents’ Mutual by name.
Meanwhile Rightmove has appointed a director who was at Amazon until last month.
Rakhi Parekh has become a non-executive director at the portal with immediate effect.
She was director of UK media at Amazon after holding various other senior positions during her 11-year tenure at the company.
Scott Forbes, Rightmove’s chairman, said: “I am delighted to welcome Rakhi to the Rightmove board.
“Rakhi’s focus on customer experience and innovation across a spectrum of digital products, desktop and mobile platforms will prove invaluable as we continuously improve our proposition for our customers seeking to reach the UK’s largest property viewing audience.”
Oh, well… the onslaught will so no doubt follow.
Thanks, by the way, Rightmove, for incorporating your rival's worst ever feature this week – the 'Listed on…' malarkey. GREAT move at a time when some of your paying customers are tossing coins as to which portal to drop. In my opinion – not having THAT "feature" put you ahead of the game. You've just levelled the playing field a bit.
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Especially when it is untrue. I can show you plenty "Listed Today" that hasve been on for weeks.
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As ALL of mine will be showing come tomorrow, Blue! ;o)
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RM executive officer said “I am also delighted that the public continue to turn to us first for property information and can now be alerted within minutes of a property coming to market."
Not strictly true….public can only be alerted within minutes of an AGENT putting it on RM. This is the sort of arrogance and swagger that really annoys me. This comment again is indicative that RM really believe that they are running the industry and are in total control of stock – to market – to public .
I really hope that more and more agents, as has been recently discussed here, increasingly use a more traditional local agent approach of speaking to their mailing lists and offering property to customers rather than just relying 100% RM. Local knowledge and agency expertise is surely still no 1 over RM.
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"I really hope that more and more agents, as has been recently discussed here, increasingly use a more traditional local agent approach of speaking to their mailing lists and offering property to customers rather than just relying 100% RM."
AMEN TO THAT, wilko! ;o)
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I understand the need for any business to show an increase in turnover and profit year on year, and where a company has a unique product, or offers a substantially better service than any of its rivals, you can understand giant leaps in income and profit being made until the competition catches up. But if the business relies on a specific and limited group of other businesses as customers who generate 90% of the income and whose own businesses are struggling to generate increases in their own income much above inflation, dont expect much 'respect' or loyalty when you return statistics like these. A 13% increase in the cost to my business is not followed by a 13% increase in leads, or a 13% increase in fees, or a 13% increase in instructions either, and if anyone tried to create an alternative which promised savings; even a not-fully-built, not-tried-and-tested model, I would back it just to try and help it succeed. Oh. There is one.
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Hello Robin. I'm sorry to jump on this but you state "A 13% increase in the cost to my business is not followed by a 13% increase in leads, or a 13% increase in fees, or a 13% increase in instructions either…". May I then respectfully ask WHY are you still paying for the "service"?
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Nothing personal, but… So I assume when the time comes you need to put up your fee by say 13%, or you taken a higher fee for a more expensive property, you will then also provide for example, 13% more service and leads to the seller??? No, business doesn't quite work like that, we all know that. Agents need the portals as much as they need agents. Also, not all profits come from agents, some completely different businesses outside of the industry advertising, or paying for data etc.
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so blinkered so so blinkered…. although you must admire the arrogance of RM in such reports, I genuinely think they enjoy winding everyone up. Perhaps no further comments good or bad about them would be a better way forward and only positive promotion of AM.
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YO! Ric – "although you must admire the arrogance of RM in such reports, I genuinely think they enjoy winding everyone up." Come on, matey – it's a SHAREHOLDERS' REPORT we are talking about here, not a "kick the Agents in the kn@ckers (…again…) press-release. What do you reasonably expect such a ra-ra report to those that 'own' them to say OTHER THAN how stonkingly well they have done? AND, of course, that they will keep it going!
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Afternoon PeeBee……………you don't see my reason for feeling such reports are arrogant to SOME who read them! ………….. so the reports says "Nick McKittrick, chief executive officer, said: “Rightmove’s popularity goes from strength to strength, with home hunters visiting more often and looking at more property than ever. On the back of this record traffic we’ve increased enquiries to our customers by over 25%.
“The importance of our brand to the British home moving public is stronger than ever with nine out of ten home movers wanting their property to be advertised on Rightmove.
“I am also delighted that the public continue to turn to us first for property information and can now be alerted within minutes of a property coming to market. Our newly released Instant Alerts are just one of the many innovations we’ve already released this year to provide the most engaging experience for home movers and the most effective advertising products, tools and insight reports to help our customers grow their businesses.”…………………………………..
You don't think that their comments "homeowners are turning to their brand" and "25% increase in leads" with knowledge these SHAREHOLDER REPORTS" are read by all or more importantly (me based on I have my opinion) is a touch arrogant, without any acknowledgement of the agents…………….other than we help them grow their business!………………….
If I were writing for RM I would say, whilst leads are up and homeowners continue to use our portal before many others, our member agents and their hard work listing property and continuing their support and upload of property to our website is vital to our continued and future growth……………………….
I'm just saying, if you would like to make the blood boil of the people who MAKE YOUR SITE WORK and that is every agent who lists property on there, continue to sound as if RM are the reason RM is so successful and not the agent. I personally think it would be arrogant of my company to write an article about how successful we are, how much profit I make and how buyers contact my offices first WITHOUT ensuring I thank the very people who make this possible within the same report! I would be nothing without my clients affording me the chance to sell their home, SO I MAKE SURE they know I need them and thank them and they like that!!………………………
A touch of **** licking within the odd "Look how much money we made" and "what we give the public" would not go a miss, considering if we the agents took back our stock….. they would offer an empty website….. WE MAKE RM!!!
And grow my business……have they started doing my valuations for me…….., I would love an RM Rep to do my next valuation without anything but, we will put you on RM, vomit the visitor stats and then say what when the customer says…..I've been on RM for the last 6 months with my current agent, it's done nowt! RM do not grow my business….they do assist it (fair enough) BUT my staff, managers, valuers and I grow my business, otherwise every agent on RM would be "growing"……… I get it is a SHAREHOLDERS REPORT but for me it is arrogant to not thank the RM collective, who pay their wage and make their shareholders money!
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PS – sorry my rant being "it is arrogance and I did say you have to admire it" as you acknowledge yourself PeeBee….. why would they report any other way….but this is arrogant really….as there is another way to put the message out in their report and not have agents get wound up at a relatively critical time for RM.
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Ric – "you don't see my reason for feeling such reports are arrogant to SOME who read them!" Of course I do. Your reason is that it is 'your' money that is contributing towards their profits – statistically, somewhere in the region of £200 per month of your Fee goes straight into their profit pot.
Not bad if you can get it, I would suggest – and the simple fact of the matter is that so far, they can and have.
And I don't blame them in the slightest for taking it. In their position, I'd do exactly the same. We have to face fact – we're just jealous of their mahoosive cojones, really… ;o)
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tis true……it's why I admire their arrogance, perhaps I should have said, hate them, but can't blame em for being pretty darn delighted about what they have created. Like you say….offer me a chance to have been at the RM helm for the past 10 years and I would have been happily smiling at the hatred on any website against me…… the millions would have softened the blow.. have a good evening 😉
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Business owners (shareholders vs Agents), is no different than an Estate Agent business owner vs House Buyer/Seller. Provide a service for a fee (which the seller has a choice of agent/to pay, similar to agent vs portal/other), make as much profit as possible to make owner happy, but to provide best possible service against fee charged. Simples!
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