GoCompare profits up nearly 20pc in 2017

Insurance comparison website GoCompare (LON:GOCO) reported a 19.8 percent increase in adjusted operated profit for 2017, boosted by a significant improvement in marketing margins.

Adjusted operating profit hit £36 million in 2017, up from £30 million the previous year, after 40.5 percent boost to operating margins. Revenues rose 5.1 percent to £149.2 million in the year the end of December.

The insurance website’s results were the first since splitting from eSure, with customer interactions up 0.8 percent to 32.2 million. Its comparison service saved customers £1.2 billion in 2017, up 17.6 percent from the previous period.

Shares slipped in early morning trading, however, after the company said full year outlook would remain unchanged, with profits weighted towards the second half of the year.

Sir Peter Wood, the group’s chairman, said “strong financial performance was complemented by careful deployment of capital that saw the Group take minority stakes in two start-up companies, and culminated in the acquisition of another money-saving business, MyVoucherCodes.”

The board announced a final dividend of 0.7 pence per share, taking the full year payment to 1.4p.

Matthew Crummack, Chief Executive Officer said: “From the strong foundation that we laid in 2016, we have further improved our capabilities to deliver the value to consumers that drive value for GoCompare.com.

“Building the strengths of our technology team enabled us to deliver more frequent and effective product enhancements, resulting in a marked improvement in both customer and partner experience. We remain focused on developing the business as the go-to place for people everywhere to save time and money.”

GoCompare (LON:GOCO) shares are currently trading up 0.18 percent at 114.20 (1329GMT).