The big news since Rightmove's (RMV) half-year results last August is chief executive Ed Williams' decision to retire, aged only 50. He will be replaced next month by his long-time chief finance and operating operator Nick McKittrick, so a management revolution is highly unlikely. But the question remains whether Mr Williams is timing his early departure with the same perfection as, say, Tesco's Terry Leahy.
There's no evidence of that in last year's results, of course. Estate agents paid £529 per month on average to have their listings with Rightmove - £86, or 19 per cent, more than in 2011. That drove a 23 per cent increase in revenue, in turn feeding a 26 per cent rise in underlying operating profits to £87.5m. The profit margin rose to a staggering 73.3 per cent.
But Mr Williams says last year's £86 gain in average revenue per advertiser (ARPA) was unusually high due to the immediate success of a new valuation tool for agents. Based on the group's negotiations with its clients so far this year, he expects the increase to be £65-£70 this year - an increase of 12-13 per cent.
Broker Numis Securities expects pre-tax profit of £96.8m this year, giving EPS of 72p (from £87.6m and 63.4p in 2012).
| RIGHTMOVE (RMV) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 1,730p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.79bn | |
| TOUCH: | 1,728-1,732p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,777p | 1,334p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.3% | PE RATIO: | 28 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 7p* | NET CASH: | £7.1m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 74.0 | 38.2 | 22.5 | 10.0 |
| 2009 | 64.5 | 36.5 | 26.7 | 10.0 |
| 2010 | 81.6 | 52.2 | 35.7 | 14.0 |
| 2011 | 97.0 | 62.7 | 43.9 | 18.0 |
| 2012 | 119 | 83.2 | 61.3 | 23.0 |
| % change | +23 | +33 | +40 | +28 |
Ex-div: 8 May Payment: 7 Jun *Includes intangible assets of £1.6m, or 1.7p a share | ||||
