Mony Group confident despite third-quarter revenue slip

Mony Group reported a 2% year-on-year decline in third-quarter revenue in a trading update on Wednesday, largely due to underperformance in its travel and home services divisions.

The FTSE 250 company, which owns brands including MoneySupermarket, said total revenue for the quarter amounted to £112.9m, with growth in the insurance and cashback segments offset by weaker results elsewhere.

Insurance revenue rose 1% to £62.7m, reflecting disciplined management in a competitive pay-per-click (PPC) market.

The firm said it faced a tough comparison with the third quarter of 2023, when car insurance premiums peaked.

In the money division, credit card switching remained strong, but current account switching slowed due to fewer attractive offers, leading to a 4% decline in revenue to £24.2m.

Home services revenue fell 8%, driven by reduced demand for broadband and fewer mobile handset launches.

Meanwhile, travel saw a 15% drop in revenue, primarily due to lower conversion rates in car hire.

Cashback delivered modest growth of 2%, supported by continued member growth and strong insurance performance within the segment.

Strategically, Mony Group's SuperSaveClub - a member-based loyalty and rewards programme - continued to expand, and now boasted over 750,000 members.

The addition of single-trip travel insurance to the programme was aimed at encouraging more frequent member engagement, complementing the 11 products now offered through the club.

Despite the challenges, Mony Group said it was still confident in its full-year outlook, with the board expecting results to meet current market expectations.

The company reiterated its guidance of no significant energy-related revenue in 2024.

“We delivered a solid financial performance in the quarter, in line with our expectations, while lapping the very strong performance last year,” said chief executive officer Peter Duffy.

“I am also pleased with our continued strategic progress, especially in the SuperSaveClub which continues to grow with momentum, now reaching over 750,000 members.”

At 1035 BST, shares in Mony Group were down 5.38% at 200.6p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.