Rightmove stock soars after rise in web hits

SHARES in Rightmove soared more than 13pc yesterday after the online estate agent reported a surge in profits and record numbers of visitors to its website.

The company said profits rose 26pc to £122m last year on the back of a 19pc rise in revenues to £167m.

It raised the dividend for the year from 28p a share to 35p and the stock rose 357 to an all-time high of 3029p.

The website, which displays homes for sale across the UK, attracted a record 100m visits in January.

‘Rightmove’s popularity with the British home-moving public has gone from strength to strength,’ said the firm’s chief executive Nick McKittrick.

Rightmove said a record 19,304 estate agents now advertise on its website, up 5pc on a year ago, as it fended off competition from rival On The Market.

Around 90pc of all British estate agents advertise on Rightmove’s site.

Analyst Gareth Davies at Numis said Rightmove’s ‘strong’ results ‘came in ahead of our estimates at every level’.

‘Rightmove is a key pick for us in 2015,’ he added.