2nd Apr 2020 10:14
(Alliance News) - Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC said Thursday its total revenue was higher in the first quarter on the year before but has suspended its guidance for the rest of the year.
Despite the uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, Moneysupermarket said it is paying its 2019 final dividend.
In the three months to March 31, the price comparison website recorded total revenue of GBP107.3 million, 2% higher than the GBP104.9 million seen in the same period the year before.
The overall growth was boosted by an 8% rise in Insurance revenue, growing to GBP51.9 million. Money and Home Services saw a 3% and 1% slip, respectively, falling to GBP24.5 million and GBP19.5 million.
Moneysupermarket said its Insurance services were driven by growth in travel and life.
"As household incomes come under pressure, we continue to offer a broad range of deals for people looking to save. The MoneySavingExpert team continues to publish the most authoritative guides to help people navigate the impact of coronavirus on their finances," Chief Executive Mark Lewis said.
He added: "This situation is continuing to develop but we in turn will continue to do all we can to help our customers at this difficult time."
As a result, Moneysupermarket has withdrawn its guidance for 2020.
"As a marketplace business, we are impacted by changes in consumer demand or provider supply. In the first quarter we initially saw strong demand for travel insurance due to consumer concerns over Covid-19, but both TravelSupermarket and travel insurance have materially weakened since the travel ban," the company explained.
The slowdown in consumer demand also has hurt its Money services, notably the demand for loans and mortgages and some of the company's promotional Money channels have seen reduced activity.
"To date, Insurance and Home Services trading remain relatively resilient. Over the longer-term, the attractive fundamentals of our business and markets are unchanged," Moneysupermarket added.
The company said it benefits from being "financially resilient", with access to a GBP100 million committed revolving credit facility, which matures in September 2021. Moneysupermarket had net cash of about GBP30 million at March 31.
"Given this strong balance sheet and robust liquidity position, the board has determined that, despite the challenging macro conditions, the proposed 2019 final dividend amount of 8.61p per share will not jeopardise our ability to continue to invest into the business and support ongoing operations, including our customers and colleagues."
Moneysupermarket did note, however, its dividend policy going forward is under review.
Shares in Moneysupermarket.com were 1.6% higher in London on Thursday morning at 287.80 pence each.
By Paul McGowan; [email protected]
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