Rightmove reported a drop in full-year profit on Friday as revenue took a hit after it gave discounts to customers during the coronavirus pandemic.
In the year to 31 December 2020, pre-tax profit fell to £134.8m from £213.6m the year before, while operating profit declined 37% to £135.1m. Revenue was down 29% to £205.7m, reflecting the impact of the discount support offered to its customers between April and September.
Rightmove provided a 75% discount on invoice values to both agency and new home customers between April and July, and a further discount to agency customers in August and September of 60% and 40%, respectively.
The property website owner said membership numbers fell 3% to end the year at 19,197, with average revenue per advertiser was down 28% at £778 per month.
Still, traffic grew 31%, with time on site over the year at 15.9bn minutes, up from12.1bn minutes in 2019 and site visits of 2.1bn, up from 1.6bn.
Chief executive Peter Brooks-Johnson said: “In a year when we stayed in our homes more than ever before, people continued to turn to Rightmove for their next move and for real-time information, helping us to extend our lead in the market. The record traffic and enquiries that followed the reopening of the market led to us sending 51 million property leads to our customers. Strong activity has continued into 2021 and we recorded our busiest ever January for traffic.
“We remain mindful that 2021 may bring further Covid-related challenges, but we will continue to deliver our strategy to help make home moving easier, delivering the best solutions to our customers and the most engaging experience for our users.”
