Moneysupermarket drives first half earnings growth
PRICE comparison website Moneysupermarket.com has recorded a sharp rise in first half earnings.
In the six months to June 30 the group, based at Ewloe near Chester, said adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 29% to £39.9m, on sales of £112.3m, up 10%.
Pre-tax profits were up 70% from £11.6m to £19.8m.
The business earns money from commission on the sale of mortgages, credits cards, insurance and holidays.
The company has four divisions: insurance, money, travel and home services. All apart from money, which declined, saw an increase in revenues. The group blames the Government’s Funding for Lending scheme for affecting returns in its money division by pushing down interest rates on deposits.
Revenue in the money arm fell by 13% to £27.9m, but insurance was up 11% to £65.5m, travel rose 30% to £9.2m and home services, which markets utility, phone and broadband services, was up 84% to £6.7m.
Chief executive Peter Plumb said: “We’ve had a good first half of 2013. Revenues were 10% and profits 29% ahead of this time last year. The benefits of our increasingly diversified business are evident. We grew our insurance, home Services and travel businesses which more than offset lower demand in our money business where savings revenues continue to be impacted by the Government’s ‘Funding for Lending’ scheme which is reducing what savers earn on their deposits.
“MoneySavingExpert.com has proved a powerful addition to the MoneySupermarket team. It continues to prosper with the launch of the innovative Cheap Energy Club which has proved a hit because it helps consumers monitor and reduce their energy bills.”
The interim dividend is up 20% to 2.16p and a special dividend of 12.16p was paid on July 26.
The group, which employs 515 people, also announced that chief financial officer Paul Doughty has resigned and will leave no later than June, 2014. He took on the role in 2004 and presided over the company’s 2007 flotation.
He said: “The last nine years have been exciting and fulfilling. It has been particularly rewarding to guide the company through its IPO and to see revenues and profits more than treble. It is time for me to move on and hand over to a new chief financial Officer, whom I will work alongside to ensure an orderly handover.”
A search for his replacement is underway.
