Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC (LON:MONY) reported slower growth in the second half of last year but said trading has improved in the first weeks of 2020.
Annual revenues rose 9% to £388.4mln as quarterly revenue growth, which had started last year at 19% and 15% slowed to 4% in the third quarter and 3% in the fourth.
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The Money segment was the guilty party, with a 14% decline in the fourth quarter and 2% over the year as the group blamed “continuing challenges in product availability in our banking business and slowing growth in market demand for consumer credit”.
Insurance revenues were up 3% in the quarter and for the year as a whole, while Home Services grew 39%, driven by very strong energy switching.
Underlying profits (EBITDA) improved 9% to £141.5mln, a return to profit growth after a decline in 2018 but much slower than the high-teens growth in the first half of 2019. The dividend was hiked 6% to 11.71p.
Chief executive Mark Lewis, who gave notice earlier in the week that he is stepping down, said innovations in the first half of 2020 will include the launch of a new energy auto-switching service via its MoneySavingExpert website.
On the outlook, he added that “overall trading dynamics have improved in the first six weeks of 2020”, with Home Services in line with the prior year, despite the strong comparative.
“The board is confident of delivering market expectations for the year.”