Moneysupermarket hails strong trading

THE boss of price comparison website moneysupermarket.com today hailed the group’s strongest quarter of 2009 and said its strategy of investing in marketing as well as managing costs had paid off.

The Chester-based group said trading levels continued to stabilise in the period from July 1 to September 30. Internet revenues were down 15% on the same period in 2008 but were 15% ahead of the first half run rate.

The group said revenues in its money division were down because of significantly worse conditions in the credit market. However, trading has been gradually improving throughout the course of this year.

Savings was the strongest performer with revenues growing over the same period last year as consumers looked to maximise their returns in a low interest environment.

Insurance revenues were 5% ahead of the same period last year, while travel was down 12% as a result of lower visitor numbers.

It home services revenues were  down 30% , however it said utility switching volumes in particular picked up in the third quarter as a number of consumers who had switched last year came off fixed deals,

Moneysupermarket said as of October 31, it had £45.1m of net cash.
Chief executive Peter Plumb said the group has enjoyed a robust third quarter. “It’s our strongest trading quarter to date. Our efforts to ensure our marketing spend works harder has started to bring real results and the Peter Jones campaign has worked well, with visitor numbers up both on the same period last year and against the second quarter.

“Overall, we are pleased with the performance in the year to date which is in line with the board’s expectations and remain confident that our sharp focus on delivery and the customer means that moneysupermarket.com is better placed than ever to capitalise on its strengths when growth returns to our markets.”