PRICE comparison website moneysupermarket.com yesterday revealed that half-year revenues were up by more than a quarter despite "extremely challenging" conditions in the market.
Business from loans and mortgages continued to worsen throughout the second quarter, the group said in an update for the six months to 30 June, but this was outweighed by "strong" growth in credit cards and savings.
The group said that, as a resul
t, its money arm revenues – which comprise more than half of group turnover – would deliver "high single-digit" growth compared to the same period last year.
Banks and building societies have tightened up lending criteria and slimmed down mortgage ranges since the onset of the credit crunch, helping to drive down the levels of mortgage approvals to historic lows.
Moneysupermarket chief executive Simon Nixon said: "The strength of our diversified strategy is really evident in the first half. The problems in the UK loan and mortgage markets are well documented and have naturally impacted our activities in that area.
"Nevertheless, that we expect to end the first half of the year broadly in line with our targets and with overall revenue growth in excess of 25 per cent shows the underlying strength of our diversified business model."
Revenues in its insurance and travel sectors were running 50 per cent and 45 per cent respectively ahead of this time last year.
Moneysupermarket said the firm's interim underlying profit margins are expected to be in the region of 30 per cent, with the underlying UK margins in excess of 32 per cent, and "broadly consistent" with the second half last year.
The north Wales firm, based in Ewloe, Flintshire, operates under flagship brands moneysupermarket.com and travelsupermarket.com, allowing consumers to compare prices on products including credit cards, broadband, mortgages, vehicle breakdown cover and package holidays.
Total visitors to its websites soared by more than 50 per cent to 91 million during last year, with the number of transactions up by a similar level to 58.2 million.
Shares in moneysupermarket were down 10.5 per cent to 106.5p yesterday. The company is due to report its interim results in August.
The full article contains 362 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
