Moneysupermarket full year profit up 20%

Moneysupermarket.com reported a rise in full year profit and revenue as it expressed confidence it will deliver its expectations for the year.

For the year to the end of December, the price comparison service said statutory profit after tax grew 20% to £63.4m as revenue pushed up 14% to £281.7m.

Moneysupermarket pointed to particularly strong growth in the Money and Home Services businesses, while growth in Insurance was lower as a result of strong second half comparatives in the previous year and tougher competition.

Adjusted earnings per share came in at 14.5p from 12.3p the previous year and the group said it will pay a final dividend of 6.6p per share, taking the total dividend for the year to 9.15p from 8p in 2014.

Chief executive officer Peter Plumb said: “This was another good year for the group, achieving 14% growth by saving customers over £1.6bn on their household bills. People are clearly getting more comfortable switching products beyond motor insurance, with the group helping over 500,000 households switch their energy and 1,600,000 people get a better deal on their finances.

"As we roll out our new technology platform and create more expert help, tools and guides, we all look forward to helping more households save more money on more things in 2016."

The company traded solidly to the end of February, delivering 12% growth, although insurance revenue was down 4% and travel is deteriorating.

“We will continue with our growth investment programme. The board remains confident of delivering its expectations for the year.”

At 1045 GMT, shares were up 0.4% to 339.60p.