UPDATE 2-Rightmove confident on year, shares rise

* H1 adjusted operating profit down 4 pct

* Says size of estate agent customer base stabilised

* Shares up 13.2 pct (Adds executive comments, analyst reaction, shares)

By Paul Sandle

LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Rightmove (RMV.L), Britain's most popular property website, said it was confident about its full-year prospects after a stabilisation in its estate-agent customer base in the first half, boosting its shares 13.2 percent.

The company said the property market was starting to revive, and while the group would not quite match 2008's underlying operating profit of 41.0 million pounds ($67.7 million) in 2009, it would exceed market expectations.

Analysts expected Rightmove to post an underlying operating profit of 32.9 million pounds, according to a Reuters poll of seven brokers.

The property market in Britain is showing stuttering signs of recovery, with mortgage approvals up 26 percent month-on-month in July [ID:nLK471778].

Asking prices, however, fell 2.2 percent month-on-month in August, wiping out a 0.6 percent rise in July, according to Rightmove's own monthly survey last week [ID:nLE591829].

"The low point appears to have the winter of last year and since then estate agents have reported a considerable upturn in activity, although obviously still at well below normal levels," Commercial Director Miles Shipside said in a conference call.

"We are still at the earliest stages of recovery," Group Managing Director Ed Williams said in the conference call.

"There was a huge shake-out in June, July and August (in 2008), running through to February this year, but since then we've been growing our estate agency membership.

Rightmove posted a 4 percent drop in underlying operating profit to 19.9 million pounds for the six months to end-June on 11 percent lower revenue of 33.6 million pounds.

The group is maintaining its interim dividend at 3 pence a share.

The number of advertisers was up 1 percent in the first half against the second half of 2008, although down 13 percent year-on-year, against a backdrop of 20 percent of estate agents closing and one-third fewer new home developments, Williams said.

"Based on July and August numbers, which this year have been very strong, we have high hopes (advertiser numbers) will continue to grow in the rest of this year and next year."