1st Mar 2019 09:26
(Correcting that Peter Williams is chair of the remuneration committee and a non-executive director, not Rightmove's Chair.)
LONDON (Alliance News) - Rightmove PLC on Friday reported a strong annual performance with revenue and profit rising on the prior year, while its remuneration chair is to leave.
Peter Williams, senior independent director and remuneration committee chair, will step down from the board at the end of its annual general meeting on May 10. Williams will leave Rightmove after more than five years.
Jacqueline de Rojas will be appointed senior independent director and Lorna Tilbian will be appointed as chair of the remuneration committee with effect from May 10.
Chair Scott Forbes said: "At the AGM in May 2018, a significant minority of votes were received against the re-election of myself as chair and Peter Williams, our senior independent director. During the autumn I actively consulted with a majority of shareholders in relation to our plans for orderly board succession and to address concerns about the board commitments of both myself and Peter."
He added: "Following these conversations, I believe we have consensus support for an orderly succession plan that contemplates the further development of chair candidates on the board and the recruitment of up to two non-executives with appropriate profiles, prior to the May 2020 AGM, on which date I intend to resign from the board as chair."
For 2018, the FTSE100 listed online property website posted pretax profit of GBP198.3 million, higher compared to GBP178.2 million a year ago.
Revenue meanwhile rose 10% year-on-year to GBP267.8 million from GBP243.3 million.
"2018 was another strong year for Rightmove. We extended our market leadership and reinforced our position as the place consumers turn to first when thinking about moving home. In doing so, we demonstrated Rightmove is a business which can continue to grow strongly even in uncertain times," Chief Executive Peter Brooks-Johnson said.
Currently, Rightmove holds a dominant position in the UK property portal market. Average site visits rose 4% during the year to 132 million per month.
Looking ahead, Rightmove believes it is well-positioned to maintain its market leadership, despite challenges posed by the UK's exit from the EU later in March affecting consumer confidence.
"We believe the UK online property advertising market will continue to grow, despite the continuing uncertainties stemming from the result of the EU referendum. Consumers and customers are becoming increasingly digital and customer spend continues to transition online from traditional advertising channels as they take advantage of the efficiencies we bring," the firm said.
It added: "We remain vigilant to the macro environment, but Rightmove is not materially impacted by the property market cycle except in the most extreme circumstances.
Rightmove upped its total dividend to 6.40 pence per share from 5.40p, meaning it will return GBP55.0 million to shareholders. The final payout for the year amounted to 4.0p, rising 11% from 3.6p a year ago.
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