By Samuel Indyk
Investing.com – Moneysupermarket.Com Group PLC (LON:MONY) was the best performing stock in the FTSE 250 on Thursday morning following results pre-market. The price comparison site reported a 24% fall in pre-tax profits after “negligible” revenue from Travelsupermarket, its holiday comparison site. With Covid wreaking havoc on the travel industry, it is understandable the site had a tough year.
Financial results
Total group revenues were down 11% YoY in 2020 to £344.9mln with profit after tax falling 27% to £69.3mln. However, the company maintained their full year dividend at 11.71p per share, reflecting confidence in longer term growth prospects and continued robust cash generation.
“The business is resilient, and our dividend reflects our confidence for the future,” Peter Duffy, CEO of Moneysupermaket commented. “Our job now is to encourage consumers to engage with us more and save on more of their bills. We will use our data better so consumers find our sites easier to use and are reminded when there are savings available to them."
Outlook
The company said an easing of lockdown restrictions and measures will be a major driver of performance in the coming year. “Reaching the upper end of the consensus range [for EBITDA] will require strong and rapid recovery in both Money and travel related channels,” the company said.
With the UK vaccine programme seeming to work and case numbers coming down, the prospects of the economy returning to a semblance of normality appear to be increasing. The risk to the outlook will come from the new strains of the virus and international travel still looks as though it will take time to pick up, given the various speeds of vaccinations amongst various countries.