23rd Oct 2020 07:00
23 October 2020 || GoCo Group plc || Trading update for the 9 months ended 30 September 2020
Another very strong quarter for Price Comparison and AutoSave
9 months to | 9 months to | YOY | |
30 September 2020 | 30 September 2019 | ||
Revenue - Price Comparison - AutoSave - Rewards | £130.5m £109.1m £17.9m £3.5m | £115.7m £105.4m £5.3m £5.0m | +13% +4% +238% (30)% |
AutoSave Live Customers1 ('000s) | 597 | 241 | +148% |
Highlights | |
Financial | |
• | Group revenue growth of 13% to £131m driven by exceptional growth in AutoSave |
• | Price Comparison delivered a very strong performance with underlying revenue growth2 of 7% year-to-date aided by a significant improvement in Car Insurance where growth has been ahead of the market |
• | AutoSave live customer numbers grew 148% year-on-year to 597,000, an increase of 115,000 in the quarter, as demand for and awareness of the proposition continues to grow |
• | Strong underlying progress has been made across digital channels in Rewards despite the impact of Covid-19 |
• | The business model continues to be highly cash generative; net debt reduced in the quarter |
Operational | |
• | The Group continues to remain resilient during the Covid-19 pandemic with the majority of employees continuing to work from home with no impact to business operations. The Group has not called on government assistance schemes relating to employment or loans |
• | Price Comparison achieved a record month for sales in Car Insurance in September through a combination of higher customer conversion and retention, supported by its innovative £250 excess proposition. Other insurance products, such as Home, have shown improved performance thanks to customer experience enhancements, partly offsetting Travel which remains negligible due to Covid-19 |
• | New TV advertising campaign for the GoCompare brand launched with strong uplifts in ad brand awareness and brand preference which has generated a positive halo across all of GoCompare's products |
• | AutoSave growth continues to be driven by cost effective digital channels, such as social media. The Group will remain disciplined in its approach to digital customer acquisition during the busy online retail periods in November and December |
Matthew Crummack, Chief Executive Officer said:
"It's been a very encouraging quarter that demonstrates the resilience of our business model throughout a highly changeable environment with more customers choosing to save time and money with GoCo Group.
"Our product innovation and new TV advertising campaign resulted in Price Comparison delivering a record sales month for Car Insurance in September and we continue to scale AutoSave sustainably through cost effective digital channels.
"We are supportive of the FCA's proposed remedies to improve customer outcomes in the home and motor insurance markets. Consumers have been using GoCompare for over a decade to help them save time and money on their insurance products and we expect this to continue. We are committed to innovating in this space to further meet consumer needs through propositions such as Look After My Bills.
"The Board is confident in delivering its expectations for the full year, subject to no further material impacts from Covid-19."
For further information: | ||||
Chris Wensley | Victoria Rees | |||
VP Investor Relations & Strategy | Senior Group Corporate Communications Manager | |||
GoCo Group | GoCo Group | |||
t: 07702 901247 | ||||
Chris Barrie / Jos Bieneman / Elizabeth Kittle | ||||
Citigate Dewe Rogerson | ||||
t: 0207 638 9571 | ||||
Notes:
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1. | Live customers defined as those who have provided full switching authority to enable a switch net of churned customers |
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2. | Underlying revenue growth excludes Travel Insurance comparison sales in 2019 and 2020 |
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About GoCo Group
GoCo Group is a tech-led business operating multiple leading brands focused on innovation and disruption with the common mission to help consumers save time and money, sustainably
Cautionary statements
Certain statements made in this announcement are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Group or industry results to differ materially from any future events, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Persons receiving this announcement should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Unless otherwise required by applicable law, regulation or accounting standard, the Group disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
The LEI for GoCo Group plc is 213800DUUN4C47JEL561.
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