Zoopla (ZPLA) has been expanding its acquired comparison services division, which is just as well considering the property services side encountered a much tougher trading environment in the six months to March.
Revenue jumped by nearly a half to £57.7m at uSwitch, the communication and energy comparision business bought in 2015. The energy side of the site was particularly active, with an increased tendency amongst consumers to switch providers during the winter. Zoopla reckons its has helped consumers to save £175m by switching providers.
By contrast, property services revenue slipped 8 per cent to £38.7m. Average revenue per advertiser edged up by 2 per cent to £361, while the number of property partners was up 5 per cent at 16,858. But the number of site visits on the property side were barely ahead of last year at 44.8m per month.
Operating costs jumped 170 per cent to £55.9m, largely as a result of increased expenditure in the comparison services division where the group invested heavily in advertising and product development. Costs on the property side were broadly flat at £20.2m.
Analysts at Numis Securities are forecasting underlying pre-tax profits for the year to September 2016 of £60.3m and EPS of 11.5p (from £43.8m and 8.3p in FY2015).
| ZOOPLA (ZPLA) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 321p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.34bn | |
| TOUCH: | 320.6-321p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 325p | LOW: 190p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.2% | PE RATIO: | 39 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 31p* | NET DEBT: | 64% | |
| Half-yearto 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 42.0 | 18.4 | 3.5 | 1 |
| 2016 | 96.4 | 28.1 | 5.5 | 1.5 |
| % change | +130 | +53 | +57 | +50 |
Ex-div: 2 Jun Payment: 24 Jun *Includes intangible assets of £250m, or 60p a share | ||||
