Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC (LON:MONY) preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2018
|
Year ended 31 December |
2018 |
2017 |
Change % |
|
Group Revenue |
£355.6m |
£329.7m |
+8 |
|
Operating Profit |
£108.0m |
£94.9m |
+14 |
|
Adjusted EBITDA * |
£129.4m |
£127.2m |
+2 |
|
Profit After Tax |
£86.6m |
£78.1m |
+11 |
|
Adjusted EPS ** |
17.4p |
16.9p |
+3 |
|
Basic EPS |
16.2p |
14.4p |
+13 |
|
Net Cash |
£29.8m |
£35.1m |
-15 |
|
Ordinary Dividend per share |
11.05p |
10.44p |
+6 |
§ Significant progress in executing our strategy to reaccelerate core growth and unlock new market growth
§ Delivered record levels of switching and helped our customers save an estimated £2.1bn
§ Good trading performance with revenues up 8%
§ Adjusted EBITDA £129.4m in line with expectations
§ Strong cash generation with £106.6m of operating cash during the period
§ Total dividend up 6% reflecting our progressive dividend policy
§ Announcing intention to return additional £40m to shareholders in 2019 in-line with our capital allocation policy
Mark Lewis, Moneysupermarket Group CEO, said:
“In 2018 we made great progress on our Reinvent strategy. As well as growing the business we helped save customers a record £2.1bn. Our investment in optimising our sites means we have made saving even easier.
“In 2019 we are taking price comparison to the next stage by offering people more personalised ways to save and on more of their household bills.”
Outlook
The Board is confident of delivering market expectations for the year. Trading in the first six weeks is encouraging. ***
* Adjusted EBITDA is Operating Profit adjusted for amortisation of acquisition related intangible assets, depreciation, amortisation and other non-underlying costs (including impairments and strategy related costs) as detailed on page 4. The adjusted results are consistent with how business performance is measured internally.
** Adjusted basic earnings per ordinary share is Profit before Tax adjusted for amortisation of acquisition related intangible assets, profit on disposal of associates and investments and other non-underlying costs as described in the financial review. In addition, a tax rate of 19% (2017: 19.25%) has been applied to calculate adjusted profit after tax.
*** Market expectations of Adjusted EBITDA for the 12 months to 31 December 2019 from the analyst consensus on our investor website are in a range of £134.3m to £149.8m, with an average of £140.1m (pre IFRS16).
Quarter 4 trading
|
|
Revenue for the three months to 31 December 2018 |
Revenue for the year ended 31 December 2018 |
||
|
£m |
Growth y-o-y % |
£m |
Growth y-o-y % |
|
|
– Insurance
– Money
– Home Services |
41.1
21.8
12.2 |
+7
+3
+22 |
183.0
88.1
49.2 |
+4
+3
+15 |
|
|
75.1 |
+8 |
320.4 |
+5 |
|
Other revenue |
10.2 |
+121 |
35.2 |
+42 |
|
Total |
85.3 |
+15 |
355.6 |
+8 |
§ The good growth in Insurance continued
§ The positive momentum in credit products was supported by the recent investment in customer experience, partly offset by lower growth in current accounts which did not have the same level of promotional products as the prior year
§ Improvements in customer experience and attractive offers from providers meant energy switching remained strong
§ Other revenue includes £6.1m from Decision Tech during the fourth quarter.
Directorate change: Robin Freestone to be appointed Chairman
We are pleased to announce that Robin Freestone will be appointed Chairman of the Board at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting on 9 May 2019 (“AGM”), subject to regulatory confirmation. Bruce Carnegie-Brown will step down from the Board after the AGM. We have published a separate RNS detailing the change.
