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Rightmove shares tumbled as much as 25 per cent on Friday after the UK property listings site warned that profit growth would slow as it increased investment in artificial intelligence.
The FTSE 100 group forecast underlying operating profit growth of 3 to 5 per cent next year, down from 4 to 9 per cent for 2024 and 2025.
Rightmove said the weaker profit growth โreflectedโ.โ.โ.โincreased investmentโ, including ยฃ18mn next year.
Shares in the company fell 24 per cent at the market open in London, before paring losses. By mid-morning they were down 11 per cent at ยฃ5.87.
Johan Svanstrom, Rightmoveโs chief executive, said AI was โnow becoming absolutely central to how we run our business and plan for the futureโ, and that the company was โinvesting to accelerate our capabilitiesโ.
In the โlonger termโ, Rightmove forecast that the investment would drive โdouble-digitโ underlying profit growth.
โRightmove profits have, in the main, grown each year, but these new proposals may be a case of two steps back to move three steps forward,โ said RBC analyst Anthony Codling, adding that management would be under pressure to explain the investment.
The London-listed group said on Friday it still had โconvictionโ in its strategic growth areas but that it would meet its revenue expectations for them later than 2028. The company reiterated its guidance for 2025.
