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REG - Rightmove Plc - Half-year Report

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RNS Number : 9208X  Rightmove Plc  26 July 2024

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HALF YEAR RESULTS ANNOUNCEMENT FOR RIGHTMOVE PLC

SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

 

Rightmove plc, the UK's largest property portal, announces its unaudited
results for the six months ended 30 June 2024.

 

A strong financial performance during a period of investment, driven by
continued demand from agents and new homes developers for our products and
services

 

Reiterating full-year 2024 guidance

 

 Financial Highlights                      H1 2024   H1 2023   Change vs 2023  % Change vs 2023
 Revenue                                   £192.1m   £179.5m   £12.6m          7%
 Operating profit                          £131.6m   £129.5m   £2.1m           2%
 Underlying operating profit((1))          £135.1m   £133.2m   £1.9m           1%
 Interim dividend                          3.7p      3.6p      0.1p            3%
 Basic earnings per share                  12.4p     12.1p     0.3p            2%
 Underlying basic earnings per share((2))  12.8p     12.5p     0.3p            2%

·  Revenue up £12.6m/7% to £192.1m, as both agents and new homes
developers renewed contracts, upgraded their packages and invested in
additional products

·    Operating profit of £131.6m, up 2% (2023: £129.5m)

·    Underlying operating profit((1)) of £135.1m, up 1% (2023: £133.2m)

·    Basic earnings per share up 2% to 12.4p (2023: 12.1p); underlying
basic earnings per share((2)) up 2% to 12.8p (2023: 12.5p)

·   Operating profit and underlying operating profit include one-off
acquisition costs of £0.6m, relating to HomeViews and the strategic long-term
investment in Coadjute, as well as a one-off charge of £3.0m in relation to
the investment in Coadjute (see Financial Performance and note 13): adjusting
to remove the impact of these costs would mean that operating profit would be
£135.2m, up 4%; underlying operating profit would be £138.7m, up 4%; and
underlying EPS would be 13.2p, up 6%

·    Interim dividend up 3% to 3.7p per ordinary share (2023: 3.6p)

·    £100.2m of returns to shareholders through share buybacks and
dividends in the first half of 2024 (2023: £97.6m); 10.1 million shares (1.2%
of outstanding share capital) cancelled to 30 June (2023: 10.0 million)

·    Cash and cash equivalents, including money market deposits, of
£28.1m (31 December 2023: £38.8m)

 

Operational highlights

·   Our market share leadership position continues at over 80% (2024: 86%,
2023: 86%)((3)), as we remain the trusted site for home-hunters to inform
themselves about the housing market

·    Resilient traffic, with a total of 8.3 billion((4)) minutes spent on
the platform in the period (2023: 8.2 billion).

·   Membership numbers stable: up 276/1% since the start of the year at
19,061 (Dec 23: 18,785), driven by strong growth in Agency Lettings members.
 Agency branches were 16,193 and New Homes developments totalled 2,868 (31
December 2023: 15,839 and 2,946)

·    Average Revenue Per Advertiser (ARPA) ((5)) up 6% to £1,497 per
month (30 June 2023: £1,411)

·    New Homes ARPA growth of £164/9%, and Agency ARPA growth of £76/6%,
both driven by increased product and package purchases and partner contract
renewals

·    Penetration of the top Estate Agency package, Optimiser, increased to
36% (Dec 23: 35%) and membership of the New Homes top package, Advanced,
increased to 56% (Dec 23: 53%)

·   Continued product innovation, with over 130 features and enhancements
underway in 2024, and 24 product teams all enabled with AI copilots

·    Positive progress on Strategic Growth Areas during the half, with
revenue growth of 30%((6))

·    Continued focus on advocating for our partners, consumers and the
wider property industry.

 

(1)       Underlying operating profit is operating profit before the
share-based payments charges (including the related NI charge)

(2)       Underlying basic EPS is profit for the year before share-based
payments charges (including the related National Insurance and appropriate tax
adjustments), divided by the weighted average number of ordinary shares
outstanding in the period

(3)       Source: Comscore, June 2023 and June 2024.  Comscore MMX®
Desktop only + Comscore Mobile Metrix®  Mobile Web & App, Total
Audience, Custom-defined list of Rightmove sites, zoopla.co.uk,
primelocation.com, onthemarket.com, United Kingdom.

(4)       Source: Google Analytics

(5)       Average Revenue per Advertiser (ARPA) is calculated as revenue
from Agency and New Homes advertisers in a given month divided by the total
number of advertisers during the month, measured as a monthly average over the
six-month period

(6)       Strategic Growth Areas comprise Commercial, Mortgages and
Rental Services.  Combined revenues in H1 2024 of £11.2m (H1 2023: £8.6m)

 

 

 

Summary and Outlook

 

Our financial performance in the first half of 2024 reflects the strength of
our business model, our market-leading position with UK consumers, and the
power of the Rightmove network effect. We continue to build the business from
this position of strength.

 

For the full year 2024, our guidance from the trading statement on 10 May is
unchanged: we continue to expect revenue growth of 7-9%, with membership
growth of up to 2% across Estate Agency and New Homes, and full-year ARPA
growth of £78-85.

 

We continue to invest in product innovation for both our consumers and our
partners, and are accelerating our strategic growth areas of commercial real
estate, rental services and mortgage lead generation, all while maintaining
disciplined cost management. We continue to anticipate an underlying operating
margin, when excluding the one-off acquisition costs and Coadjute investment,
of 70% in 2024.

 

Our capital allocation policy remains unchanged. We prioritise organic
investment, including any bolt-on M&A that might help us to accelerate the
execution of our strategy. We then prioritise a progressive dividend policy,
following which all remaining cash generated in the year is returned via share
buybacks.

 

The strength of our business model, coupled with ongoing innovation, underpins
the Board's confidence in Rightmove's

outlook for 2024 and beyond.

 

 

Johan Svanstrom, Chief Executive Officer, said:

 

"We're pleased to deliver a strong set of H1 results, and to be progressing in
executing our plan to build an even more valuable digital platform for the UK
property industry.

 

"Our performance came against the backdrop of the sustained challenging
mortgage rate environment. The period saw a pick-up in existing-homes listings
and transactions, a continued yet softening imbalance of demand and supply for
rentals, and a tentative outlook for new homes development volumes.  With the
election now concluded, the property market looks forward to potential
interest rate reductions which will further stimulate activity.

 

"On the back of our leading position in the market, we have exciting momentum
expanding our products and innovation for consumers and partners and remain
confident in Rightmove's long-term prospects."

 

 

The Company will present its results at a meeting for analysts and investors,
to be held at 9:30am today and available online at
https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/nk8x46xy
(https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fedge.media-server.com%2Fmmc%2Fp%2Fnk8x46xy&data=05%7C02%7Cinvestor.relations%40rightmove.co.uk%7C12ba23ccb3654b5c68d108dca5a89c00%7C8cd57a9404ae4a8e9869feb23e19960c%7C0%7C0%7C638567390840927004%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=fIFNwenieVaC9Ht5bjxIXu9%2FgeidEKRW6MIeWTTkSck%3D&reserved=0)

 

Enquiries:        Investor Relations
      Investor.Relations@rightmove.co.uk
(mailto:Investor.Relations@rightmove.co.uk)

Sodali
   rightmove@sodali.com (mailto:rightmove@sodali.com)

 

 

About Rightmove

 

·   Rightmove has the UK's largest selection of properties for sale and to
rent, adds more listings than anyone else, and over 80% of all time spent on
property portals is on Rightmove

·   Rightmove's vision is to give everyone the belief that they can make
their move by giving people the best place to turn and return to for access to
tools and expertise to make it happen

·  People can search Rightmove for residential resale, new homes, rentals,
commercial property and overseas properties and use tools and information
including securing a Mortgage in Principle, checking local sold prices,
property valuations, market trends, maps and schools

·  Partners include the following key groups: estate agents, lettings
agents, new homes developers, rental operators, commercial property operators
and overseas property agents

·   Using the UK's largest housing datasets, we issue a number of regular
reports to track housing market indicators: our monthly House Price Index
(established 2002), our quarterly Rental Trends Tracker (established 2015),
and a weekly Mortgage Rates Tracker (established 2023). Historical data is
available on request

·    Founded in 2000, Rightmove listed on the London Stock Exchange in
2006 and is a member of the FTSE 100 index.

 

 

 

Half Year Statement

 

Throughout the first half of 2024 partner demand for our products and services
was strong and we have continued to invest and to innovate to expand our
business, in order to deliver meaningful acceleration in both revenues and
profits over the coming years.

 

The recovery in the housing market so far this year has been tentative:
mortgage rates have eased a little but remain high, and housing transactions
remain muted and slow to close - taking an average of seven months from first
listing to completion.  Nonetheless, our partners remained focused on
competing for new vendor mandates and delivering value for their customers
(our consumers) and continued to rely on our products to help them to do
that.

 

Estate agents' investment in our packages and products increased Agency
revenues by 7% and Agency ARPA((1)) by 6%, to £1,417 (June 23: £1,341).
 Over 36% of our agent partners are now on our top package, Optimiser (Dec
2023: 35%).  Vendor lead products, such as Local Valuation Alert, increased
by 8% and we saw record growth in the number of new Lettings partners (a net
c.350 increase on June 2023).

 

The acquisition of HomeViews - which provides the UK's largest community of
verified residential reviews of property developments - was a valuable
addition to our already strong listings proposition for Rental Operators.

 

New homes developers continued to face a challenging market, with competition
from the resale market in the face of a tentative pickup in demand.  We
welcome the new government's proposals to reform the planning system and to
'get Britain building'.  However, while developers are being generally
cautious in their approach to building so far this year, their usage of our
digital products remained strong and New Homes ARPA((2)) increased by 9% to
£1,940 as a result (June 23: £1,776). Revenue growth was more muted (4%) as
development numbers reduced to 2,868 (Dec 2023: 2,946) reflecting the slower
pace of building.  The number of developments on our top tier package,
Advanced, increased to 56% (Dec 2023: 53%).

 

Our Strategic Growth Areas continued to make progress, with Mortgages
delivering stellar growth in Mortgages in Principle volumes and revenue up
176%/£1.4m to £2.2m. Commercial revenues grew by 12%/£0.7m to £6.5m,
reflecting both increased membership numbers and contract renewals. Within
Rental Services, our Lead to Keys proposition continues to gain traction with
lettings agents and we enhanced further the quality and efficiency of the
product during the half.   Rental Services revenues grew by 29%/£0.6m to
£2.5m.

 

Overall, total revenues increased by 7% on the same period in 2023 to £192.1m
and Group ARPA((3)) grew by 6% to £1,497 (June 2023: £1,411).

 

Innovation in new products, not only for partners but for consumers, continued
apace and we will launch our latest consumer enhancement - Renovation
Calculator - in the third quarter, which will allow consumers to evaluate the
uplift in the value of their property from specific renovations.

 

Growth in the first half was underpinned by our ongoing investment in both the
Rightmove platform and people.  Over 100 people have been recruited so far in
2024, and our developers are now AI-enabled, with Github Copilot. Rightmove
was listed as a Sunday Times Best Place to Work for the first time and over
80% of employees think Rightmove is a great place to work.

 

Rightmove remains the only place to find virtually the whole of the UK
property market in one place. It is the place home hunters turn to first, and
engage with most, to help them with their searches.  Our platform is central
to making any move easier through driving the digitisation of the property
market and we also provide insights into the market from our vast and unique
property market data. As the market leader our market share of consumer time
is over 80%((4)).

 

Our strategy is to generate growth for all our stakeholders. We enjoy working
with all our partners to build success together and to advocate for the
industry, which in turn generates growth for Rightmove and our shareholders.

 

(1)        Agency ARPA is calculated as revenue from Agency advertisers
in a given month divided by the total number of advertisers during the month,
measured as a monthly average over the year

(2)        New Homes ARPA is calculated as revenue from New Homes
developers in a given month divided by the total number of developers during
the month, measured as a monthly average over the year

(3)        Average Revenue per Advertiser (ARPA) is calculated as
revenue from Agency and New Homes advertisers in a given month divided by the
total number of advertisers during the month, measured as a monthly average
over the six-month period.

(4)        Source: Comscore June 24

 

 

Financial performance

 

Revenue

Revenue increased by £12.6m/7% year on year to £192.1m (2023: £179.5m) with
growth across all business units.

 

                H1 2024   H1 2023  Change vs 2023 £m   Change vs 2023 %

£m
£m
 Agency         138.5     129.4    9.1                 7%
 New Homes      33.9      32.7     1.2                 4%
 Other          19.7      17.4     2.3                 13%
 Total revenue  192.1     179.5    12.6                7%

 

                   30 June 2024  31 Dec 2023  30 June 2023  Change vs Dec 2023  Change vs Dec 2023 %
 Agency branches   16,193        15,839       16,093        354                 2%
 New Homes devs    2,868         2,946        3,023         (78)                (3%)
 Total membership  19,061        18,785       19,116        276                 1%

Agency revenue increased by £9.1m year on year to £138.5m, as core
membership price increases were secured through partner contract-renewals and
agents continued to purchase additional products. HomeViews, acquired in
February, contributed £0.7m of the increase in revenue. Agency ARPA((1))
increased by £76/6% to £1,417 (June 2023: £1,341) and agency membership
numbers were up 2% on 31 December 2023, ending the first half of the year at
16,193 branches.

 

New Homes revenue increased by 4% to £33.9m, through contract renewals,
upgrades to our top package, and the developers purchasing incremental
products. New Homes ARPA((2)) increased by £164/9% to £1,940 per development
per month (June 2023: £1,776) and the strength of this ARPA growth more than
offset development listings which, at 2,868, were marginally down on December.

 

Other revenue increased to £19.7m, driven primarily by the increased volume
of MIPs (mortgages in principle) delivered within our Mortgages business and
increased membership numbers and successful contract renewals within our
Commercial business.

 

Administration costs

 

Total costs increased by £10.5m to £60.5m (2023: £50.0m), which included
share-based payments charges and related National Insurance charges of £3.5m
(2023: £3.7m).

 

Excluding share-based payments charges and related National Insurance,
underlying operating costs((3)) increased by £10.7m/23% to £57.0m (2023:
£46.3m). The increase is due primarily to:

·      the £3.0m strategic investment in Coadjute (a property market
technology company: see note 13), which was written down immediately given the
long-term nature of the investment, and £0.6m relating to the acquisition
costs of Coadjute and of acquiring HomeViews;

·      higher people costs, reflecting on-going investment in line with
the growth ambitions set out at our Capital Markets Day in November 2023
(c£5m);

·      increased spend on IT security, infrastructure and cloud hosting
(c£2m); and

·      other general and admin costs.

 

The share-based payments charge of £3.5m was broadly flat on 2023 as the
impact of new awards was largely offset by credits arising from forfeitures.

 

Operating profit

 

Operating profit increased by £2.1m to £131.6m (H1 2023: £129.5m), with an
operating profit margin of 69% (H1 2023: 72%).

 

Underlying operating profit((4)) increased by £1.9m/1% to £135.1m, with an
underlying operating profit margin((5)) of 70% (June 2023: 74%).

 

If the one-off acquisition costs of £0.6m and Coadjute investment charge of
£3.0m are excluded, the underlying operating profit would be £138.7m, an
increase of 4% on prior year, and the underlying operating margin would be
72%.

 

                                   H1 2024  H1 2023  Change vs 2023 £m   Change vs 2023 %

£m
£m

 Revenue                           192.1    179.5    12.6                7%
 Underlying costs((3))             (57.0)   (46.3)   (10.7)              (23%)
 Underlying operating profit((4))  135.1    133.2    1.9                 1%
 Underlying operating margin((5))  70%      74%
 Share based incentive costs       (3.5)    (3.7)    0.2                 5%
 Operating profit                  131.6    129.5    2.1                 2%
 Operating Margin                  69%      72%

 

 

Earnings per share (EPS)

 

Basic EPS increased by 2% to 12.4p (2023: 12.1p), driven by the increase in
profit and the share buyback programme, which reduced the weighted average
number of ordinary shares in issue to 795.1m (2023: 819.8m).

 

Underlying basic EPS((6)) (based on underlying profit) increased by 2% to
12.8p (2023: 12.5p).

 

Excluding the acquisition costs of £0.6m and the £3.0m Coadjute investment,
underlying basic EPS would be 13.2p, an increase of 6% on 2023.

 

Summary consolidated statement of financial position

 

                                       30 June  31 December 2023  30 June  Change from

                                       2024     £m                2023     Dec 2023

                                       £m                         £m       £m
 Property, plant and equipment         9.1      9.4               9.2      (0.3)
 Intangible assets                     34.0     21.8              22.0     12.2
 Deferred tax asset                    1.7      2.4               2.1      (0.7)
 Trade and other receivables           29.9     31.5              31.8     (1.6)
 Contract assets                       1.1      0.8               0.8      0.3
 Income tax receivable                 -        0.2               -        (0.2)
 Cash including money market deposits  28.1     38.8              43.2     (10.7)
 Trade and other payables              (26.9)   (24.7)            (23.9)   (2.2)
 Contract liabilities                  (2.2)    (2.5)             (2.0)    0.3
 Income tax payable                    (0.9)    -                 (0.7)    (0.9)
 Lease liabilities                     (6.7)    (7.5)             (8.3)    0.8
 Provisions                            (0.8)    (0.8)             (0.8)    -
 Other non-current liabilities         (0.4)    -                 -        (0.4)
 Net assets                            66.0     69.4              73.4     (3.4)

 

Rightmove's balance sheet as at 30 June 2024 shows total equity of £66.0m
(31 December 2023: £69.4m) and reflects the continued strong trading
position and returns to shareholders.

 

The increase in intangible assets to £34.0m is mostly due to the acquisition
of HomeViews (see note 13), generating goodwill and intangible assets on
consolidation of £8.8m, as well as capitalisation of increased investment in
product development of £4.4m.

 

Trade and other receivables of £29.9m, are down £1.6m on December 2023
reflecting a decrease in underlying trade receivables, partially offset by an
increase in prepayments and other receivables reflecting timing.  Trade and
other payables of £26.9m increased due to timing of accruals at half year.
 Trade payments continue to be made in line with contractually agreed terms.

 

Cash flow and liquidity

 

Rightmove remained debt-free during the period and cash generation remained
strong, with cash generated from operating activities of £143.2m (30 June
2023: £131.7m) and operating cash conversion of 109%((7)) .

( )

The closing Group cash balance at 30 June 2024, including money market
deposits, was £28.1m (31 December 2023: £38.8m).  Cash remains invested in
short-term, easily accessible money market deposits, including in a green
money-market fund.

 

The Group bought back and cancelled 10.1 million ordinary shares during the
period (2023: 10.0m), at a cost of £55.0m (excluding expenses) as part of its
ongoing share buyback programme (2023: £55.0m). Dividends totalling £45.2m
in relation to the final 2023 dividend were also paid during the period (2023:
£42.6m).

 

Shareholder returns

 

Consistent with the policy of growing dividends broadly in line with the
increase in Underlying EPS, the Directors are declaring an interim dividend of
3.7p per ordinary share, which will be paid on 25 October 2024 to all
shareholders on the register as at 27 September 2024. We intend to continue
the share buyback programme in the second half of 2024.

 

 

Alison Dolan

Chief Financial Officer

 

(1)       Agency ARPA is calculated as revenue from Agency advertisers
in a given month divided by the total number of advertisers during the month,
measured as a monthly average over the year

(2)       New Homes ARPA is calculated as revenue from New Homes
developers in a given month divided by the total number of developers during
the month, measured as a monthly average over the year

(3)       Underlying operating costs are defined as administrative
expenses before share-based payments charges (including the related National
Insurance)

(4)       Underlying operating profit is defined as operating profit
before share-based payments charges (including the related National Insurance)

(5)       Underlying operating margin is defined as the underlying
operating profit as a percentage of revenue

(6)       Underlying basic EPS is defined as profit for the year before
share-based payments charges (including the related National Insurance and
appropriate tax adjustments), divided by the weighted average number of
ordinary shares in issue for the period

(7)       Cash generated from operating activities of £143.2m (2023:
£131.7m) compared to operating profit as reported in the income statement of
£131.6m (2023: £129.5m).

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

 

The Board and Audit Committee regularly review the principal risks to our
business and the position against the risk appetite and monitor progress to
manage risks accordingly.

 

Consideration is given to emerging risks and to any changes in the internal or
external environment that could impact our strategy and the way we operate. We
regularly update our risks and responses where required.

 

The Board and Audit Committee have reviewed the principal risks and
uncertainties faced by the Group. The risks set out in the 2023 Annual Report
remain relevant for 2024 and there have been no significant changes.

 

 

Statement of Directors' responsibilities

The Directors are responsible for preparing the interim report in accordance
with applicable law and regulations. The Directors confirm that the condensed
consolidated interim financial information has been prepared in accordance
with UK-adopted International Accounting Standard 34, 'Interim Financial
Reporting' and the Disclosure and Transparency Rules sourcebook of the United
Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority.

 

The interim management report includes a fair review of the information
required by the Disclosure and Transparency Rules paragraphs 4.2.7R and
4.2.8R, namely:

·    an indication of important events that have occurred during the six
months ended 30 June 2024 and their impact on the condensed set of financial
information, and a description of the principal risks and uncertainties for
the remaining six months of the financial year; and

·    material related-party transactions during the six months ended 30
June 2024 and any material changes in the related-party transactions described
in the Annual Report and Accounts 2023.

 

The Directors of Rightmove plc are listed in the Annual Report and Accounts
2023. A list of current Directors is maintained on the Rightmove plc website:
https://plc.rightmove.co.uk (https://plc.rightmove.co.uk) .

 

The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of, amongst
other things, the financial and corporate governance information as provided
on the Rightmove website (https://plc.rightmove.co.uk). Legislation in the
United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial
information may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

 

The interim report was approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for
issue on 26 July 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

 

 

 

Johan
Svanstrom
Alison Dolan

Chief Executive
Officer
Chief Financial Officer

 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
for the six months ended 30 June 2024

                                                         Note  Six months ended                                 Six months ended  Year ended

30 June 2024
30 June 2023
31 December 2023
                                                               £000                                             £000              £000

 Revenue                                                 5     192,114                                          179,454           364,316

 Administrative expenses                                       (60,512)                                         (49,944)          (106,283)

 Operating profit                                              131,602                                          129,510           258,033

 Operating profit before share-based incentive charge          135,138                                          133,171           264,570

 Share- based incentive charge

                                                         6                         (3,536)                      (3,661)           (6,537)

 Financial income                                              1,356                                            1,008             2,227
 Financial expenses                                            (270)                                            (234)             (491)

 Net financial income                                          1,086                                            774               1,736

 Profit before tax                                             132,688                                          130,284           259,769

 Income tax expense                                      9     (33,748)                                         (30,840)          (60,618)

 Profit for the period being total comprehensive income        98,940                                           99,444            199,151

 Attributable to:
 Equity holders of the Parent                                  98,940                                           99,444            199,151

 Earnings per share (pence)
 Basic                                                   7     12.4                                             12.1              24.5
 Diluted                                                 7     12.4                                             12.1              24.4

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
Company number 06426485
at 30 June 2024

 

                                                                Note  30 June 2024                                           30 June 2023    31 December 2023
                                                                      £000                                                   £000            £000
 Non-current assets
 Property, plant and equipment                                        9,083                                                  9,226           9,385
 Intangible assets                                              13    34,005                                                 22,008          21,842
 Deferred tax assets                                            9     1,690                                                  2,059           2,383

 Total non-current assets                                             44,778                                                 33,293          33,610

 Current assets
 Trade and other receivables                                    10    29,928                                                 31,798          31,474
 Contract assets                                                5     1,084                                                  838             759

 Income tax receivable                                                -                                                      -               165
 Money market deposits                                                5,363                                                  5,131           5,224
 Cash and cash equivalents                                            22,740                                                 38,091          33,641

 Total current assets                                                 59,115                                                 75,858          71,263

 Total assets                                                         103,893                                                109,151         104,873

 Current liabilities
 Trade and other payables                                       11    (26,921)                                               (23,871)        (24,737)
 Lease liabilities                                                    (2,387)                                                (2,274)         (2,291)
 Contract liabilities                                           5     (2,157)                                                (1,958)         (2,536)
 Income tax payable                                                   (881)                                                  (668)           -

 Total current liabilities                                            (32,346)                                               (28,771)        (29,564)

 Non-current liabilities
 Lease liabilities                                                    (4,308)                                                (6,120)         (5,112)
 Provisions                                                           (847)                                                  (835)           (841)
 Other non-current liabilities                                  13    (400)                                                  -               -

 Total non-current liabilities                                        (5,555)                                                (6,955)         (5,953)

 Total liabilities                                                    (37,901)                                               (35,726)        (35,517)

 Net assets                                                           65,992                                                 73,425          69,356

 Equity
 Share capital                                                        804                                                    828             814
 Other reserves                                                       628                                                    604             618
 Retained earnings (net of own shares held)                           64,560                                                 71,993          67,924
 Total equity attributable to the equity holders of the Parent

                                                                                              65,992                         73,425          69,356

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

for the six months ended 30 June 2024

                                                                    Note              6 months ended                                       6 months ended                       Year ended

30 June 2024
30 June 2023
31 December 2023
                                                                                      £000                                                 £000                                 £000
 Cash flows from operating activities
 Profit for the period                                                                98,940                                               99,444                               199,151
 Adjustments for:
 Depreciation charges                                                                 1,782                                                1,759                                3,424
 Amortisation charges                                                                 967                                                  770                                  1,560
 Financial income                                                                     (1,356)                                              (1,008)                              (2,227)
 Financial expenses                                                                   270                                                  234                                  491
 Charge on investment                                               13                3,000                                                -                                    -
 Share-based payments                                               6                 3,330                                                3,315                                5,886
 Income tax expense                                                 9                 33,748                                               30,840                               60,618
 Operating cash flow before changes in working capital                                                  140,681

                                                                                                                                                         135,354                268,903

 Decrease/(increase) in trade and other receivables                 10                1,153                                                (5,000)                              (4,503)
 Increase in trade and other payables  11                                             2,056                                                2,064                                3,863
 Increase in provisions                                                               -                                                    6                                    -
 Increase in contract assets                                        5                 (325)                                                (384)                                (305)
 Decrease in contract liabilities                                   5                 (379)                                                (367)                                211

 Cash generated from operating activities                                             143,186                                              131,673                              268,169

 Financial expenses paid                                                              (267)                                                (235)                                (479)
 Income taxes paid                                                                    (32,855)                                             (30,179)                             (60,979)
 Net cash from operating activities                                                                    110,064

                                                                                                                                           101,259                              206,711

 Cash flows used in investing activities
 Interest received on cash and cash equivalents                                       1,548                                                816                                  1,694
 Increase in money market deposits                                                    -                                                    (84)                                 -
 Acquisition of property, plant and equipment                                         (866)                                                (456)                                (2,018)
 Acquisition of subsidiary, net of cash received                    13                (7,552)                                              -                                    -

 Acquisition of investment                                          13                (3,000)                                              -                                    -
 Acquisition of intangible assets                                                     (4,363)                                              (704)                                (1,328)

 Net cash used in investing activities                                                (14,233)                                             (428)                                (1,652)

 Cash flows used in financing activities
 Net dividends paid                                                 8                 (45,214)                                             (42,580)                             (71,651)
 Purchase of own shares for cancellation                            12                (55,000)                                             (54,095)                             (130,000)
 Purchase of own shares for share incentive plans                     12              (5,213)                                              -                                    (1,998)
 Share-related expenses                                                               (385)                                                (360)                                (922)
 Payment of lease liabilities                                                         (1,306)                                              (1,275)                              (2,530)
 Proceeds on exercise of share-based incentives                                       386                                                  481                                  594

 Net cash used in financing activities                                                (106,732)                                            (97,829)                             (206,507)
 Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents                                 (10,901)                                             3,002                                (1,448)
 Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January                                               33,641                                               35,089                               35,089
                                                                                                             22,740

 Cash and cash equivalents at period end                                                                                                   38,091                               33,641

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
for the six months ended 30 June 2024

                                                                                Share     Own shares held     Other         Reverse acquisition     Retained      Total

capital

reserves
reserve
earnings
equity

£000     £000
£000
£000
£000
£000

 At 1 January 2023                                                              838       (13,898)            456           138                     80,629        68,163

                                                                                          -
 Total comprehensive income                                                      -                             -             -                      99,444        99,444

Profit for the period

 Transactions with owners recorded directly in equity
 Share-based payments                                                            -         -                   -             -                      3,315         3,315
 Tax debit in respect of share-based incentives recognised directly in equity    -         -                   -             -                      (2)           (2)
 Exercise of share-based incentives                                              -         517                 -             -                      (36)          481
 Cancellation of own shares                                                     (10)      -                    10            -                      (55,000)      (55,000)
 Net Dividends paid                                                             -          -                   -             -                      (42,588)      (42,588)
 Cost of share purchases                                                         -        -                    -             -                      (388)         (388)
 At 30 June 2023                                                                828       (13,381)            466           138                     85,374        73,425

 At 1 January 2023                                                              838       (13,898)            456           138                     80,629        68,163

 Total comprehensive income                                                     -         -                   -             -                       199,151       199,151
 Profit for the year

 Transactions with owners recorded directly in equity
 Share-based payments                                                           -         -                   -             -                       5,886         5,886
 Tax credit in respect of share-based incentives recognised directly in equity  -         -                   -             -                       133           133
 Net dividends                                                                  -         -                   -             -                       (71,651)      (71,651)
 Exercise of share-based incentives                                             -         2,156               -             -                       (1,562)       594
 Purchase of shares for share incentive plan                                    -         (1,998)              -            -                                     (1,998)
 Cancellation of own shares                                                     (24)      -                   24            -                       (130,000)     (130,000)
 Cost of share purchases                                                        -         -                   -             -                       (922)         (922)
 At 31 December 2023                                                            814       (13,740)            480           138                     81,664        69,356

 At 1 January 2024                                                              814       (13,740)            480           138                     81,664        69,356

 Total comprehensive income                                                     -         -                   -             -                       98,940        98,940

Profit for the period

 Transactions with owners recorded directly in equity
 Share-based payments                                                           -         -                   -             -                       3,330         3,330
 Tax debit in respect of share-based incentives recognised directly in equity   -         -                   -             -                       (196)         (196)
 Exercise of share-based incentives                                             -         488                 -             -                       (102)         386
 Purchase of shares for plans                                                   -         (5,213)             -             -                       -             (5,213)
 Cancellation of own shares                                                     (10)      -                   10            -                       (55,000)      (55,000)
 Net dividends paid                                                             -         -                   -             -                       (45,226)      (45,226)
 Cost of share purchases                                                        -         -                   -             -                       (385)         (385)
 At 30 June 2024                                                                804       (18,465)            490           138                     83,025        65,992

 

NOTES

1   General information

Rightmove plc (the Company) is a public limited Company registered in England
(Company no. 6426485) domiciled in the United Kingdom (UK). The condensed
consolidated interim financial statements ('interim financial statements') as
at and for the six months ended 30 June 2024 comprise the Company and its
interest in its subsidiaries (together referred to as 'the Group'). The
principal business of the Group is the operation of the Rightmove platforms,
which have the largest audience of any UK property portal (as measured by time
on site).

The consolidated financial statements of the Group as at and for the year
ended 31 December 2023 are available upon request to the Company Secretary
from the Company's registered office at 2 Caldecotte Lake Business Park,
Caldecotte Lake Drive, Caldecotte, Milton Keynes, MK7 8LE or are available on
the corporate website at plc.rightmove.co.uk.

Basis of preparation

These condensed interim financial statements, for the six months ended 30 June
2024, have been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial
Reporting, under UK-adopted international accounting standards, and the
Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct
Authority. They should be read in conjunction with the Group's last annual
consolidated financial statements as at and for the year ended 31 December
2023 ('last annual financial statements'). The interim financial statements do
not include all the information required for a complete set of financial
statements prepared in accordance with UK-adopted international accounting
standards. However, selected explanatory notes are included to explain events
and transactions that are significant to an understanding of the changes in
the Group's financial position and performance since the last annual financial
statements. New standards and amendments effective from 1 January 2024 have
not had a material impact on the interim consolidated financial statements of
the Group.

The interim financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 25 July 2024 and the results for the current and comparative period are unaudited. The auditor, Ernst &Young LLP, has carried out a review of the interim financial statements and its report is set out at the end of this document.

 

The interim financial information does not constitute statutory accounts
within the meaning of sections 434 and 435 of the Companies Act 2006.
Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023 were approved by the
Board of Directors on 29 February 2024 and have been delivered to the
Registrar of Companies. The report of the auditors was unqualified.

 

Alternative performance measures

In the analysis of the Group's financial performance, certain information
disclosed in the financial statements may be prepared on a non-GAAP basis or
has been derived from amounts calculated in accordance with IFRS but are not
themselves an expressly permitted GAAP measure. These measures are reported in
line with the way in which financial information is analysed by management and
designed to increase comparability of the Group's year-on-year financial
position, based on its operational activity. The key alternative performance
measures presented by the Group are:

 

·      Underlying profit: which is defined as profit for the year before
share-based payments charges (including the related National Insurance and
appropriate tax adjustments);

·      Underlying basic earnings per share (EPS): which is defined as
underlying profit, divided by the weighted average number of ordinary shares
outstanding in the period;

·      Underlying operating profit: which is defined as operating profit
before share-based payments charges (including the related National
Insurance);

·      Underlying costs: which is defined as administrative expenses
before share-based payments charges (including the related National
Insurance); and

·      Underlying operating margin: which is defined as the underlying
operating profit as a percentage of revenue.

The Directors believe that these alternative performance measures provide a
more appropriate measure of the Group's business performance, as the
share-based payments charge is a non-cash charge that is not entirely driven
by the principal operational activity of the Group. The Directors therefore
consider underlying operating profit to be the most appropriate indicator of
the performance of the business and year-on-year trends.

 

A reconciliation of the underlying performance measures to the GAAP measures
are shown below:

 

Underlying profit

 A reconciliation of the profit for the period to the underlying profit is
presented below:

 

                                6 months ended   6 months ended

                                 30 June 2024     30 June 2023

                                £000             £000
 Profit for the period          98,940           99,444
 Share-based incentives charge  3,330            3,315
 NI on share-based incentives   206              346
 Impact on tax charge           (817)            (684)
 Underlying profit              101,659          102,421

 

Underlying profit is used instead of profit to calculate the underlying basic
earnings per share, which is underlying profit divided by the weighted average
number of ordinary shares in issue for the period, whereas earnings per share
is profit divided by weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue for
the period (note 7).

 

Underlying operating profit

A reconciliation of the operating profit to the underlying operating profit is
presented below:

 

                                6 months ended   6 months ended

                                 30 June 2024     30 June 2023

                                £000             £000
 Operating profit               131,602          129,510
 Share-based incentives charge  3,330            3,315
 NI on share-based incentives   206              346
 Underlying operating profit    135,138          133,171

 

Underlying operating profit is used to calculate the underlying operating
margin, which is underlying operating profit as a proportion of revenue,
whereas the operating margin calculated as operating profit as a proportion of
revenue.

 

Underlying costs

A reconciliation of the administrative expenses to the underlying costs is
presented below:

 

                                6 months ended   6 months ended

                                 30 June 2024     30 June 2023

                                £000             £000
 Administrative expenses        60,512           49,944
 Share-based incentives charge  (3,330)           (3,315)
 NI on share-based incentives   (206)            (346)
 Underlying costs               56,976           46,283

 

 

 

 

Going concern

 

The Directors have performed a detailed going concern review and tested the
Group's liquidity in a range of scenarios, as set out below.

 

Throughout the period, the Group was debt-free, remained strongly cash
generative and had a cash balance of £22.7m and money market deposits of
£5.4m at 30 June 2024 (31 December 2023: cash balance £33.6m and money
market deposits £5.2m).

 

The Group bought back shares to the value of £55.0m by 30 June 2024 (period
ended 30 June 2023: £55.0m) and paid the 2023 final dividend of £45.2m in
May 2024 (period ended 30 June 2023: £42.6m).

 

In reaching its assessment on going concern, the Directors have used the most
recent Board approved forecasts for the Group for the period to 31 December
2025 ("the going concern period"), which have been modelled to reflect the
expected impact of current economic conditions on trading, as set out in these
financial statements.

 

In stress testing the future cash flows of the Group, the Directors modelled a
range of scenarios which considered the effect on the Group of reductions of
varying severity in the number of housing transactions for the period to 31
December 2025 and modelled the likely timing of cashflows from our customers
during the going concern period. These included severe but plausible downside
scenarios that are considered to pose the greatest threat to the business
model and future performance of the Group, such as: an economic shock,
increased competition and new disruptive technologies, or a cyber threat. The
model considered the impact of changes in the key drivers of the Group's
revenues, including customer numbers and average revenue per advertiser (ARPA)
- one scenario being a 30% reduction in revenue, irrespective of cause. Cost
assumptions were also considered in each of the severe but plausible
scenarios, including an increase in marketing costs and IT costs, employee
recruitment and retention costs, and higher spend on innovation and protection
of the platform. The scenarios were stress tested individually and in
combination. In all combinations of the scenarios tested, the Group remained
cash positive and debt-free.

 

The Directors also reviewed the results of a reverse stress test, which was
undertaken to provide an illustration of the scenario required to exhaust cash
balances. The possibility of this scenario arising was assessed to be highly
remote and could arise only in extreme circumstances, much more severe than
the scenarios modelled above.

 

The Directors are confident that the Group will remain cash positive and will
have sufficient funds to continue to meet its liabilities as they fall due for
at least the period to 31 December 2025 and have therefore prepared the
financial statements on a going concern basis.

 

2   Material accounting policies

 

The accounting policies applied in these interim financial statements are the
same as those applied by the Group's consolidated financial statements as at
and for the year ended 31 December 2023.

 

3   Judgements and estimates

 

In preparing these interim financial statements in accordance with UK Adopted
International accounting standards, management is required to make judgements
and estimates that affect the application of accounting policies and the
reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expenses.  Management
has determined that there are no significant areas of estimation uncertainty
or critical judgements in applying accounting policies that have a significant
effect on the amounts recognised in the consolidated financial statements, as
described in the last annual financial statements.

 

 

 

4   Operating segments

Rightmove has one reportable segment, being the consolidated result. Whilst
the Chief Operating Decision Maker separately monitors revenue for different
business units they do not separately monitor business unit profit, operating
costs, financial income, financial expenses and income taxes for these areas
of the business, instead monitoring this on a consolidated level.

 

The Group presents internal financial information that measures business
performance to the Chief Executive Officer, who is the Group's Chief Operating
Decision Maker. This information is used for the purpose of making decisions
about resources to be allocated and of assessing performance. This financial
information includes information on revenue performance and specific
monitoring of trade receivable levels for each of the following business
units:

 

• 'Agency' which provides resale and lettings property advertising services
on Rightmove's platforms;

• 'New Homes' which provides property advertising services to new home
developers and housing associations on Rightmove's platforms; and

• 'Other' which comprises Overseas and Commercial property advertising
services; non-property advertising services of Third-Party advertising and
Data Services; and the mortgages business.

 

All revenues in all periods are derived from third parties. The disaggregated
revenue is included within Note 5.

 

5   Revenue

 

The Group's operations and main revenue streams are those described in the
last annual financial statements. The Group's revenue is derived from
contracts with customers.

 

Disaggregation of revenue

 

In the following table, revenue is disaggregated by property and non-property
advertising revenue. The table also includes a reconciliation of the
disaggregated revenue with the Group's business units (see Note 4).

 

 Six months ended       Estate Agency  New Homes  Other     Total

 30 June 2024
                        £000           £000       £000      £000
 Revenue stream
 Property products      138,488        33,867     9,913     182,268
 Non-property products  -              -          9,846     9,846
                        138,488        33,867     19,759    192,114

 Six months ended       Estate Agency  New Homes  Other     Total

 30 June 2023           £000           £000       £000      £000
 Revenue stream
 Property products      129,374        32,634     9,184     171,192
 Non-property products  -              -          8,262     8,262
                        129,374        32,634     17,446    179, 454

 Year ended             Estate Agency  New Homes  Other     Total

 31 December 2023       £000           £000       £000      £000
 Revenue stream
 Property products       261,954        66,447     18,877    347,278
 Non-property products   -              -          17,038    17,038
                         261,954        66,447     35,915    364,316

 

 

 

 

 

Contract balances

The following table provides information about contract assets and contract
liabilities from contracts with customers.

                                                                 Contract Assets  Contract Liabilities

                                                                 £000             £000
 Contract balance as at 31 December 2023                    759                   (2,536)
 Performance obligations satisfied in previous periods      (759)                 -
 Performance obligations satisfied in current periods       -                     2,290
 Accrued/(deferred) during the period                       1,084                 (1,911)
 Contract balances as at 30 June 2024                       1,084                 (2,157)

 

The contract assets primarily relate to the Group's rights to consideration
for services provided but not invoiced at the reporting date. The contract
assets are transferred to trade receivables when invoiced and the rights have
become unconditional.

 

The contract liabilities primarily relate to the advance consideration
received from Estate Agency, Overseas and Commercial customers, for which
revenue is recognised as or when the services are provided.

 

6   Share-based payments

The Group operates share-based incentive schemes for executive Directors and
employees; a Savings Related Share Option Scheme (Sharesave Plan) and Share
Incentive Plan (SIP) for all employees; a performance share plan (PSP) for
Directors; and a Deferred Share Bonus Plan (DSP) for the Directors and
selected senior management. There is also a restricted share plan (RSP) in
operation which is awarded on an ad-hoc basis, based on service conditions
only, for selected senior individuals.

 

Four new share-based incentive awards were made during the period to 30 June
2024:

·      335,970 PSP awards were granted on 12 March 2024 subject to
Earnings Per Share (EPS), Revenue and Total Shareholders Return (TSR)
performance. Performance will be measured over three financial years (1
January 2024 - 31 December 2025). The vesting on 12 March 2026 of 50% of the
2024 PSP awards will be dependent on the relative TSR performance condition
measured over the three-year performance period, with the remaining 50%
dependent on the both the satisfaction of the EPS growth and revenue targets
in equal measure. The PSP awards have been valued using the Monte Carlo model
for the TSR element and the Black Scholes model for the EPS element.

·      605,476 DSP nil cost shares were awarded to executives and senior
management on 12 March 2024 following the achievement of the 2023 internal
performance targets, with the right to exercise the shares deferred until
March 2026 (assuming service conditions are met). The DSP awards were valued
using the Black Scholes model.

·      354,736 RSP nil cost shares were awarded to selected senior
management on 1 March 2024, and a further 16,008 on 6 June 2024, subject only
to service conditions over a one-to-three-year period. Participants are not
entitled to receive dividends on these awards. RSP awards have been valued
using the Black Scholes model.

The total charge in relation to share-based payments for the six months ended
30 June 2024 was £3,536,000 (2023: £3,661,000): the charge in relation to
the share-based payments relating to all share-based incentive plans was
£3,330,000 (2023: £3,315,000); and the related National insurance charge for
the six months ended 30 June 2024 relating to all awards was £206,000 (2023:
£346,000).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7   Earnings per share (EPS)

                                                    Pence per share

                                              £000                                 Basic                          Diluted

 Six months ended 30 June 2024

 Profit after tax                             98,940                               12.4                           12.4
 Underlying profit after tax                  101,659                              12.8                           12.8
 Six months ended 30 June 2023
 Profit after tax                             99,444                               12.1                           12.1
 Underlying profit after tax                  102,421                              12.5                           12.5
 Year ended 31 December 2023
 Profit after tax                             199,151                              24.5                           24.4
 Underlying profit after tax                  204,680                              25.2                           25.1

 

 

Weighted average number of ordinary shares (basic)

 

                                                                               6 months ended     6 months ended     Year ended

30 June 2024
30 June 2023
31 December 2023

Number of shares
Number of shares
Number of shares
 Issued ordinary shares at 1 January less ordinary shares held by the EBT and  811,252,473        835,094,530        835,094,530
 SIP Trust
 Less own shares held in treasury at the beginning of the year                 (11,709,197)       (12,185,222)       (12,185,222)
 Weighted effect of own shares purchased for cancellation                      (4,040,251)        (3,388,739)        (9,991,531)
 Weighted effect of share-based incentives exercised                           196,083            267,142            433,805
 Weighted effect of shares purchased by the EBT                                (563,497)          -                  (14,726)
                                                                               795,135,611        819,787,711        813,336,856

 

Weighted average number of ordinary shares (diluted)

For diluted EPS, the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue is
adjusted to assume conversion of all potentially dilutive shares. The Group's
potential dilutive instruments are in respect of share-based incentives
granted to employees, which will be settled by ordinary shares held by the
Employees' Share Trust (EBT), SIP Trust and shares held in treasury.

 

                                                        6 months ended     6 months ended     Year ended

30 June 2024
30 June 2023
31 December 2023

Number of shares
Number of shares
Number of shares
 Weighted average number of ordinary shares (basic)     795,135,611        819,787,711        813,336,856
 Dilutive impact of share-based incentives outstanding  1,783,649          2,005,735          2,002,000
                                                        796,919,260        821,793,446        815,338,856

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8   Dividends

Dividends declared and paid by the Company were as follows:
 

                             6 months ended 30 June 2024       6 months ended               Year ended 31 December 2023

30 June 2023

                             Pence per share  £000              Pence per share   £000       Pence per share   £000
 2022 final dividend paid                                      5.2                42,588    5.2                42,588
 2023 interim dividend paid                                    -                  -         3.6                 29,084
 2023 final dividend paid    5.7              45,226
                             5.7              45,226           5.2                42,588    8.8                71,672
 Unclaimed dividends returned                 (12)                                (8)                          (21)
 Net dividends included in the                                                                                                        71,651

 statement of cash flows                      45,214                              42,580

 

After the period end the Board approved an interim dividend of 3.7p (2023:
3.6p) per qualifying ordinary share being £28,700,000 (2023: £29,084,000).

The 2023 final dividend of £45,226,000 (5.7p per qualifying share) was paid
on 24 May 2024. It was £104,000 lower than that reported in the 2023 annual
accounts due to a decrease in the ordinary shares entitled to a dividend
between 1 March 2024 and the -final dividend record date of 26 April 2024.

The terms of the EBT provide that dividends payable on the ordinary shares
held by the EBT are waived.

9   Taxation

The income tax expense of £33,748,000 (2023: £30,840,000) is recognised
based on management's best estimate of the consolidated effective tax rate
expected for the full financial year, applied to the profit before tax for the
six-month period. The Group's consolidated effective tax rate for the six
months ended 30 June 2024 was 25.4% (2023: 23.7%). The difference between
the standard rate of 25.0% and the Group's effective rate of 25.4% as at 30
June 2024 is attributable to the impact of non-deductible items.

The net deferred tax asset of £1,690,000 (31 December 2023: £2,383,000 and
30 June 2023: £2,059,000) comprises a deferred tax asset of £3,089,000 (31
December 2023: £3,145,000 and 30 June 2023: £2,791,000) and a deferred tax
liability of £1,399,000 (31 December 2023: £762,000 and 30 June 2023:
£732,000).

 

The deferred tax asset is mostly in respect of equity settled share-based
incentives and provisions. The deferred tax asset arising on equity settled
share-based incentives was recognised in profit or loss to the extent that the
related equity settled share-based payments charge was recognised in the
statement of comprehensive income. The deferred tax liability is mostly in
respect of the intangible assets recognised on acquisition HomeViews in 2024
and the impact of 100% first year allowances on fixed assets.

 

The deferred tax assets and liabilities as at 30 June 2024 have been
calculated at a rate of 25% which is the expected rate that will prevail at
the date upon which the net deferred tax asset will reverse in the future,
based on substantively enacted UK tax rates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 10   Trade and other receivables                    30 June 2024    30 June 2023    31 December 2023
                                                     £000            £000            £000
 Trade receivables                                   23,435          24,721          25,740
 Less provision for impairment of trade receivables  (990)           (966)           (1,249)
 Net trade receivables                               22,445          23,755          24,491
 Prepayments                                         6,547           7,640            6,259
 Interest receivable                                 62              232              405
 Other debtors                                       874             171              319
                                                     29,928          31,798          31,474

 

 11   Trade and other payables       30 June 2024     30 June 2023     31 December 2023

                                     £000             £000             £000
 Trade payables                      2,224            2,429            2,057
 Accruals                            9,049            7,697            7,662
 Other creditors                     1,941            896              1,510
 Other taxation and social security  13,707           12,849           13,508
                                     26,921           23,871           24,737

 

 

12 Reconciliation of movement in capital and reserves

 

Own shares purchased for cancellation
The total number of shares bought back in the six months to 30 June 2024 was
10,067,328 (2023: 10,031,573) representing 1.2% (2023: 1.2%) of the ordinary
shares in issue (excluding shares held in treasury).  All the shares bought
back in the period were cancelled. The shares were acquired on the open market
at a total consideration (excluding costs) of £55,000,000
(2023: £55,000,000). The maximum and minimum prices paid were £5.84
(2023: £5.89) and £5.00 (2023: £4.90) per share respectively.

 

 

 

 Own shares held - £000                                                                                               Total

                                         EBT shares reserve   SIP shares reserve   Treasury shares                    own shares held

                                         £000                 £000                 £000                               £000
 Own shares held as at 1 January 2023    (3,157)              (4,952)              (5,789)                            (13,898)
 Share-based incentives exercised        89                   272                                  84                 445
 SIP releases in the period              -                    72                   -                                  72
 Own shares held as at 30 June 2023      (3,068)              (4,608)              (5,705)                            (13,381)

 Own shares held as at 1 January 2023    (3,157)              (4,952)              (5,789)                            (13,898)
 Shares purchased for SIP                (725)                (1,273)              -                                  (1,998)
 Shares transferred to SIP               725                  (725)                -                                  -
 Share-based incentives exercised        1,297                557                  230                                2,084
 SIP releases in the year                -                    72                   -                                  72
 Own shares held as at 31 December 2023  (1,860)              (6,321)              (5,559)                            (13,740)

 Own shares held as at 1 January 2024    (1,860)              (6,321)              (5,559)                            (13,740)
 Shares purchased for RSP                (5,213)              -                    -                                  (5,213)
 Share-based incentives exercised        36                   289                  140                                465
 SIP releases in the period              -                    23                   -                                  23
 Own shares held as at 30 June 2024      (7,037)              (6,009)              (5,419)                            (18,465)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Own shares held - number of shares

                                                                                                   Total

                                       EBT shares reserve   SIP shares reserve   Treasury shares   own

                                                                                                   shares held
 Own shares held as at 1 January 2023  1,375,963            930,592              12,185,222        14,491,777
 Share-based incentives exercised      (184,563)            (52,980)             (176,955)         (414,498)
 SIP releases in the period            -                    (12,200)             -                 (12,200)
 Own shares held as at 30 June 2023    1,191,400            865,412              12,008,267        14,065,079
 Own shares held as at 1 January 2023  1,375,963            930,592              12,185,222        14,491,777
 Shares purchased for SIP              127,240              226,335              -                 353,575
 Shares transferred to SIP             (127,240)            127,240              -                 -
 Share-based incentives exercised      (346,044)            (104,740)            (476,025)         (926,809)
 SIP releases in the year              -                    (12,200)             -                 (12,200)
 Shares held as at 31 December 2023    1,029,919            1,167,227            11,709,197        13,906,343

 Own shares held as at 1 January 2024  1,029,919            1,167,227            11,709,197        13,906,343
 Shares purchased for RSP              915,626              -                    -                 915,626
 Share-based incentives exercised      (75,376)             (53,670)             (291,226)         (420,272)
 SIP releases in the period            -                    (4,275)              -                 (4,275)
 Shares held as at 30 June 2024        1,870,169            1,109,282            11,417,971        14,397,422

 

 

(a) EBT shares reserve

This reserve represents the cost of own shares acquired by the EBT less any
exercises of share-based incentives. At 30 June 2024, the EBT held 1,870,169
(June 2023: 1,191,400) ordinary shares in the Company, representing 0.2% (June
2023: 0.1%) of the ordinary shares in issue (excluding shares held in
treasury). The market value of the shares held by the EBT at 30 June 2024 was
£10,042,808 (June 2023: £6,233,405).

 

(b) SIP shares reserve

In November 2014, the Group established the Rightmove Share Incentive Plan
Trust (SIP). This reserve represents the cost of acquiring shares less any
exercises or releases of SIP awards. At 30 June 2024 the SIP Trust held
1,109,282 (June 2023: 865,412) ordinary shares in the Company of 0.1 pence
each, representing 0.1% (June 2023: 0.1%) of the ordinary shares in issue
(excluding shares held in treasury). The market value of the shares held in
the SIP Trust at the period end was £5,956,844 (June 2023: £4,525,350).

 

(c) Treasury shares

This represents the cost of acquiring shares held in treasury less any
exercises of share-based incentives. These shares were bought back in 2008 at
an average price of 47.60 pence and may be used to satisfy certain share-based
incentive awards.

 

Other reserves

This represents the Capital Redemption Reserve in respect of own shares bought
back and cancelled. The movement in other reserves of £10,067 (June
2023: £10,000) comprises the nominal value of ordinary shares cancelled
during the period.

 

Retained earnings

The loss on exercise of share-based incentives of £102,000 (June 2023:
£36,000) is the difference between the value that the shares held by the EBT,
SIP and treasury shares were originally acquired for and the exercise price at
which share-based incentives were exercised during the period.

 

 

 

 

 

 

13 Acquisitions and investments

 

HomeViews Limited

 

On 1 February 2024, the Group acquired the entire ordinary share capital of
HomeViews Limited, a business providing the UK's biggest community of verified
resident reviews of property developments, with a particular focus on the
build to rent sector. This augments our existing Rental Operators proposition,
provides a basis for introducing resident reviews into other business units,
and will leverage the scale benefits that the Rightmove platform and customer
base bring to the HomeViews' existing market.  This acquisition has been
treated in line with IFRS 3 - business combinations.

 

                                2024

                                £000
 Cash consideration       8,471
 Total consideration      8,471

 

The following table provides a reconciliation of the amounts included in the
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows:

 

 Net cash flow on acquisition                              2024

                                                           £000
 Cash paid for subsidiary                                  8,471
 Net of cash and cash equivalents acquired                 (519)
 Net cash cost paid for subsidiary                         7,952
 Deferred consideration                                    (400)
 Net cash outflow included in the statement of cash flows  7,552

 

The total cash consideration paid of £8,471,000 excludes acquisition costs of
£590,000, which have been recognised as an expense in the period in the
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income (£370,000 in the period and
£220,000 in December 2023). Included within transaction costs on acquisition
of £590,000 are legal and due diligence fees and stamp duty. The deferred
consideration will be payable on the second anniversary of the completion date
and has no performance obligations.

 

In the five-month period to 30 June 2024, HomeViews contributed revenue of
£0.7m and a trading profit after tax of £nil to the Group's results. If the
acquisition had occurred on 1 January 2024, management estimates that
consolidated revenue would have been £0.8m and consolidated profit for the
period would have been £nil. In determining these amounts, management has
assumed that the fair value adjustments, determined provisionally, that arose
on the date of acquisition would have been the same if the acquisition had
occurred on 1 January 2024.

 

The following table details the fair values of the assets and liabilities
acquired at the date of acquisition:

 

 Net assets acquired                         Carrying values pre-acquisition  Fair value adjustments  Fair values

                                             £000                             £000                    £000
 Non-current assets
 Property, plant and equipment               14                               -                       14
 Intangible assets - IT development costs    -                                1,845                   1,845
 Intangible assets - customer relationships  -                                757                     757
 Total non-current assets                    14                               2,602                   2,616
 Current assets
 Trade and other receivables                 150                              -                       150
 Cash and cash equivalents                   519                              -                       519
 Total current assets                        669                              -                       669
 Current liabilities
 Trade and other payables                    (328)                            -                       (328)
 Total current liabilities                   (328)                            -                       (328)
 Non-current liabilities - deferred tax      -                                (650)                   (650)
 Fair value of net assets acquired           355                              1,952                   2,307

Goodwill

Goodwill arising from the acquisition has been recognised as follows:

                                    £000
 Total consideration                8,471
 Fair value of net assets acquired  (2,307)
 Goodwill                           6,164

 

The goodwill figure recognised above includes the knowledge and experience of
HomeViews which is established within the Rental Operators markets, their
skilled workforce and the reputation of the business. This is together with
the synergy benefits expected to the Group through leveraging the scale and
reach of the Rightmove customer base, its sales and marketing teams and
technological capability. For the purposes of impairment testing, goodwill
allocated to the relevant lowest cash generating unit which is the Agency only
unit. The Directors have considered the fair value of assets and liabilities
acquired and have concluded that there are no other intangible assets to be
recognised other than goodwill, computer software and customer relationships.

 

Investment in Coadjute Limited

 

During the period, the Group acquired a 7.4% holding in Coadjute Limited, a
business providing a nationwide infrastructure for the property market,
connecting buyers, sellers and property professionals with data, services, and
each other. Other investors include Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide and
NatWest. The potential of a platform like Coadjute to, over time, digitise and
transform the house purchase journey - reducing the time to closure and
providing greater visibility of the progress of the transaction to buyers,
sellers and lenders - is immense, but this is a journey that will take time.

 

For that reason, the investment is strategic and longer-term in its nature and
the cost of £3.0m was therefore fully written down and recognised in the
Income Statement as a strategic research-related cost.

 

 

 

 

ADVISERS AND SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION

 Contacts                                            Registered office       Corporate advisers
 Chief Executive Officer:      Johan Svanstrom       Rightmove plc           Financial adviser
 Chief Financial Officer:      Alison Dolan          2 Caldecotte Lake       UBS Investment Bank

 Company Secretary:            Carolyn Pollard       Business Park

Caldecotte Lake Drive

 Website:                      www.rightmove.co.uk                           Joint brokers
                                                     Caldecotte              UBS AG London Branch

                                                     Milton Keynes           Deutsche Numis
                                                     MK7 8LE

                                                                             Auditor
                                                                             Ernst & Young LLP
                                                     Registered in           Bankers

                                                     England no. 6426485
 Financial calendar 2024                                                     Barclays Bank Plc
 Interim dividend record date  27 September 2024                             Santander UK plc

 Interim dividend payment      25 October 2024                               HSBC UK Bank plc

 Full year results             28 February 2025                              Lloyds Banking Group plc

                                                                             Solicitors

                                                                             EMW LLP

                                                                             Slaughter and May
                                                                             Herbert Smith Freehills LLP

                                                                             Registrar
                                                                             Link Asset Services*

 

*Shareholder enquiries

The Company's registrar is Link Group. They will be pleased to deal with any
questions regarding your shareholding or dividends. Please notify them of your
change of address or other personal information. Their contact details are
below:

 

Shareholder helpline: 0371 664 0300 calls are charged at the standard
geographic rate and will vary by provider. Calls outside the United Kingdom
will be charged at the applicable international rate. Lines are open between
09:00 - 17:30, Monday to Friday excluding public holidays in England and
Wales.

Email: enquiries@linkgroup.co.uk (mailto:enquiries@linkgroup.co.uk)

Signal Shares shareholder portal: www.signalshares.com
(https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.signalshares.com%2F&data=04%7C01%7CCheryl.Addo%40rightmove.co.uk%7C6580216f9ee9414815e208d8b0b78ae6%7C8cd57a9404ae4a8e9869feb23e19960c%7C0%7C0%7C637453649634726454%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=oILVPr%2BM%2BISe%2BUJX23LXtPiA1Xvwig37y1253ZCOpSM%3D&reserved=0)

Address:  Link Group

10th Floor Central Square

29 Wellington Street

Leeds LS1 4DL

 

Shareholders can register online to view your holdings using the shareholder
portal, a service offered by Link Group at www.signalshares.com
(http://www.signalshares.com) . The shareholder portal is an online service
enabling you to quickly and easily access and maintain your shareholding
online - reducing the need for paperwork and providing 24 hour access for your
convenience. You may:

-  View your holding balance and get an indicative valuation

-  View the dividend payments you have received

-  Cast your proxy vote on the AGM resolutions online

-  Update your address

-  Register and change bank mandate instructions so that dividends can be
paid directly to your bank account

-  Elect to receive shareholder communications electronically

-  Access a wide range of shareholder information and download shareholder
forms

 

 

 

 

 

INDEPENDENT REVIEW REPORT TO RIGHTMOVE PLC

 

Conclusion

 

We have been engaged by the Company to review the condensed set of financial
statements in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 30
June 2024 which comprises the condensed consolidated interim statement of
comprehensive income, condensed consolidated interim statement of financial
position, condensed consolidated interim statement of cash flows, condensed
consolidated interim statement of changes in shareholders' equity and the
related explanatory notes. We have read the other information contained in the
half yearly financial report and considered whether it contains any apparent
misstatements or material inconsistencies with the information in the
condensed set of financial statements.

 

Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to
believe that the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly
financial report for the six months ended 30 June 2024 is not prepared, in all
material respects, in accordance with UK adopted International Accounting
Standard 34 and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the United
Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority.

 

Basis for Conclusion

 

We conducted our review in accordance with International Standard on Review
Engagements 2410 (UK) "Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by
the Independent Auditor of the Entity" (ISRE) issued by the Financial
Reporting Council. A review of interim financial information consists of
making enquiries, primarily of persons responsible for financial and
accounting matters, and applying analytical and other review procedures. A
review is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance
with International Standards on Auditing (UK) and consequently does not enable
us to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters
that might be identified in an audit. Accordingly, we do not express an audit
opinion.

 

As disclosed in note 1, the annual financial statements of the group are
prepared in accordance with UK adopted international accounting standards. The
condensed set of financial statements included in this half-yearly financial
report has been prepared in accordance with UK adopted International
Accounting Standard 34, "Interim Financial Reporting".

 

Conclusions Relating to Going Concern

 

Based on our review procedures, which are less extensive than those performed
in an audit as described in the Basis for Conclusion section of this report,
nothing has come to our attention to suggest that management have
inappropriately adopted the going concern basis of accounting or that
management have identified material uncertainties relating to going concern
that are not appropriately disclosed.

 

This conclusion is based on the review procedures performed in accordance with
this ISRE, however future events or conditions may cause the entity to cease
to continue as a going concern.

 

Responsibilities of the directors

 

The directors are responsible for preparing the half-yearly financial report
in accordance with the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the
United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority.

 

In preparing the half-yearly financial report, the directors are responsible
for assessing the company's ability to continue as a going concern,
disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the
going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to
liquidate the company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative
but to do so.

 

 

Auditor's Responsibilities for the review of the financial information

In reviewing the half-yearly report, we are responsible for expressing to the
Company a conclusion on the condensed set of financial statements in the
half-yearly financial report. Our conclusion, including our Conclusions
Relating to Going Concern, are based on procedures that are less extensive
than audit procedures, as described in the Basis for Conclusion paragraph of
this report.

 

 

Use of our report

 

This report is made solely to the company in accordance with guidance
contained in International Standard on Review Engagements 2410 (UK) "Review of
Interim Financial Information Performed by the Independent Auditor of the
Entity" issued by the Financial Reporting Council. To the fullest extent
permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other
than the company, for our work, for this report, or for the conclusions we
have formed.

 

 

 

 

Ernst & Young LLP

Luton

25 July 2024

 

 

 

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