Price comparison group achieves record interim revenues
First half revenues have hit a record high for MONY Group, the price comparison website better known as Moneysupermarket.com.
The group, based in Ewloe, near Chester, announced interim results for the six months to June 30, 2024, today (July 22).
Revenues of £223.5m were better than the corresponding period a year ago which achieved sales of £213.8m. They were driven by a strong performance in Insurance and Cashback.
Pre-tax profits of £58.1m were an uplift on the previous year’s £53.3m level.
Net debt was more than halved, reduced from £54.4m last year to £25.1m and there was strong cash conversion with £51.8m of operating cashflow during the period.
And the board has recommended a return to dividend growth with a three per cent increase to the interim dividend to 3.3p per share, against 3.2p in 2023. It said this reflects the ongoing good cash conversion of the business, strong balance sheet and the board’s confidence in the future prospects of the group.
MONY reporter growth across its member-based customer propositions with positive early indicators, while the milestone 500,000 members was passed in MoneySuperMarket SuperSaveClub.
So far, there are 37 B2B partners onboarded across car and home insurance, broadband, mobile and energy.
Insurance was the main sector driving revenues, with a six month total of £119.9m, a 14% improvement. Money achieved sales of £50.9m, a two per cent decline, while Home Services’ sales of £16.7m represented a 10% fall against the previous year. Travel, at £11.7m, was a one per cent improvement, and £29.8m from Cashback was a rise of three per cent on 2023.
CEO, Peter Duffy, said: “We’ve made good progress in the first half of the year reaching a best ever H1 revenue and EBITDA.
“Ours is a business that only makes money if customers save money and in the first half of 2024, we saved customers £1.7bn.
“By offering easier ways to save through SuperSaveClub, the MoneySavingExpert App and Quidco, customers will increasingly come to us direct and more frequently, too.
“The work we have done on our tech and data platform makes this possible, and I am excited about the growth opportunity ahead.”
The group said the progress of its strategy, as well as the actions it is taking to generate growth, give the Bboard confidence that the group will deliver results in line with market expectations for the year, which are adjusted EBITDA of £140.5m, with a range of £135.8m to £143.7m.
As previously stated, MONY expects growth in Insurance to return to more normalised levels as it begins to lap the exceptional growth experienced in 2023, and it does not expect any material revenue from energy switching this year.
Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at Manchester investment platform, AJ Bell, said: “The owner of price comparison site Moneysupermarket may have announced a bumper first-half but the market has focused on the decision not to lift full-year guidance as growth in the booming insurance line is expected to slow.
“The company’s services are still in demand as households count their pennies, but it is yet to see energy switching come back and revenues are falling in the money and homes services categories.”
