Could the worst of the credit crunch finally be behind Moneysupermarket.com? The financial product and travel comparison site was certainly hit hard by the withdrawal of mortgages and loans by banks when the credit crunch hit. However, 2009's first half has shown some signs of stabilisation, and the group is paying £25m to shareholders as a special dividend from its cash pile, worth 4.93p a share.
While the group's worst-hit division - money - remains a dim shadow of its former self, with half -year revenues of £18.6m compared with £40.3m a year ago, trading has stabilised and website visitors are increasing. There are also encouraging signs from the insurance business, which accounts for over half of sales. That unit saw a quarterly trading improvement in the three months to the end of June and the first few weeks of July have been significantly ahead of the first-half run rate. Travel, however, continues to suffer from falling consumer spending.
Cost-cutting was a key feature of the first half and the adjusted cost base fell 18 per cent to £31.3m. Gross margin rose from 67 per cent to 70 per cent. Revenues are likely to be more in focus for the rest of the year, helped by a new advertising campaign that features a judge from popular TV business show, Dragons’ Den.
UBS expects adjusted full-year EPS of 4p (6.93p in 2008).
| MONEYSUPERMARKET.COM (MONY) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 70p | MARKET VALUE: | £355m | |
| TOUCH: | 69-70p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 102p | LOW: 35p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.0% | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 49p* | NET CASH: | £75.6m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 99.4 | 14.4 | 2.00 | 1.30 |
| 2009 | 68.5 | 1.93 | 0.10 | 1.30** |
| % change | -31 | -87 | -95 | - |
Ex-div: 16 Sep Payment: 16 Oct *Includes intangible assets of £211m, or 42p a share **Excludes special dividend | ||||
