TIDMMONY
RNS Number : 5013P
Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC
18 February 2021
18 February 2021
Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC preliminary results for the year
ended 31 December 2020
Strategy evolves; focus on delivery
Year ended 31 December 2020 2019 Growth %
Group revenue GBP344.9m GBP388.4m (11)
----------- ----------- ---------
Adjusted EBITDA * GBP107.8m GBP141.5m (24)
----------- ----------- ---------
Profit after tax GBP69.3m GBP94.9m (27)
----------- ----------- ---------
Adjusted basic EPS
* 13.1p 18.2p (28)
----------- ----------- ---------
Basic EPS 12.9p 17.7p (27)
----------- ----------- ---------
Operating cashflow GBP83.9m GBP113.7m (26)
----------- ----------- ---------
Net cash/(debt) * GBP23.6m GBP24.2m (2)
----------- ----------- ---------
Dividend per share 11.71p 11.71p -
----------- ----------- ---------
2020 performance reflects exceptional market conditions
-- Revenue down 11% due to exceptional COVID-19 related market
conditions. Excluding travel channels (TravelSupermarket and travel
insurance), revenue fell 4%
-- Adjusted EBITDA fell 24% as a result of lower revenue and a
lower gross margin rate, primarily due to poorer conversion in
Money
-- Strong cash conversion: GBP83.9m operating cashflow with net
cash GBP23.6m at 31 December 2020
-- Full year dividend maintained at 11.71p, reflecting our
confidence in our longer-term growth prospects and continued robust
cash generation
Peter Duffy, CEO of Moneysupermarket Group, commented:
"We have again helped millions of UK households save on their
bills, while providing indispensable financial advice throughout
the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The business is resilient, and our dividend reflects our
confidence for the future.
"Our job now is to encourage consumers to engage with us more
and save on more of their bills. We will use our data better so
consumers find our sites easier to use and are reminded when there
are savings available to them."
An updated, evolved strategy
We are evolving our strategy, with emphasis on attracting users
more efficiently; on providing an easier and more engaging
experience for users so they return more frequently and switch more
products; and on broadening our offer either organically or through
M&A.
Stronger execution against this strategy is needed to deliver
the full potential of the Group. We have begun to make changes to
drive greater accountability and faster decision-making. Improving
our data infrastructure and capabilities will also drive long-term
advantage, and we are making good, early progress in this area.
*Notes:
Adjusted EBITDA is operating profit before depreciation,
amortisation and impairment and adjusted for other non-underlying
costs as detailed on page 10. This is consistent with how business
performance is measured internally.
Adjusted basic earnings per ordinary share is profit before tax
adjusted for acquisition related intangible assets and other
non-underlying costs as described on page 10, divided by the number
of weighted average shares. A tax rate of 19% (2019:19%) has been
applied to calculate adjusted EPS.
Net cash/(debt) is cash and cash equivalents less borrowings and
does not include deferred consideration or lease liabilities.
Quarter 4 trading
Revenue for the three Revenue for the year
months ended 31 December ended 31 December 2020
2020
GBPm Growth % GBPm Growth %
---------------------- ------ ---------------------
Insurance 37.8 (11) 172.9 (8)
Money 13.9 (26) 62.8 (27)
Home Services 15.4 (8) 68.8 0
Other 9.5 (7) 40.4 (11)
Total 76.6 (13) 344.9 (11)
---------------------- -------- ------ ---------------------
Revenue for the quarter was down 13%, the November lockdown
having a less pronounced impact than the Spring lockdown.
-- Car insurance growth slowed during the quarter. Home
insurance returned to low growth, while life insurance remained in
decline. Travel insurance was negligible.
-- In Money, borrowing saw a slight improvement. Provider
lending criteria improved marginally but remained tighter than
pre-COVID-19.
-- Home Services year-on-year performance was slightly better
than the third quarter. Energy revenue remained below 2019 as
continued low levels of consumer savings meant reduced switching in
the market. Home Comms grew well.
-- Within Other, Decision Tech continued its strong performance
in B2B and B2C. This was offset by TravelSupermarket, where revenue
remained negligible due to travel restrictions.
Recent performance and outlook
Our end markets continue to be impacted by COVID - 19
restrictions and the pace of lockdown measures being eased will be
a major driver of our 2021 performance. The breadth of the
consensus range for 2021 adjusted EBITDA (GBP96.4m to GBP128.8m)
reflects this. Reaching the upper end of the consensus range will
require strong and rapid recovery in both Money and travel related
channels . If dynamics within Money were close to Q4 2020 levels
and travel restrictions stay in place, adjusted EBITDA will likely
be towards the lower end of the consensus range. Given the likely
shape of the trading recovery, as well as the good 2020 Q1
performance, we expect revenue and profit performance to be firmly
weighted to the second half.
Early 2021 trading reflects lockdown measures and we currently
expect Q1 performance for Insurance and Money to be similar to Q2
2020 (in terms of year-on-year % change). Car, home and life
insurance have been stronger than in April 2020, but we will
shortly lap strong comparables for life and travel insurance.
Within Money, tight provider lending criteria have been compounded
by a market-wide drop in demand similar to the initial drop in
traffic seen during the Q2 2020 lockdown.
In Home Services, customer savings in energy remain low and we
are lapping a strong comparable when savings levels were high. Home
Services revenue is therefore down significantly year on year
although we note the recent price cap increase may improve
performance as the quarter progresses.
Our purpose of "Helping households save money" has never been
more relevant and, despite the current uncertainty, the Board
remains confident in the Group's long-term growth prospects.
Results presentation
A presentation for investors and analysts will be available from
8am at
http://corporate.moneysupermarket.com/Investors/results-centre
A Q&A session will be held at 9.30am with Peter Duffy (CEO)
and Scilla Grimble (CFO). This session can be accessed via
https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/yvr39ydy
For further information, contact:
Scilla Grimble, Chief Financial Officer Scilla.Grimble@moneysupermarket.com / 0203 826 4667
Ian Gibson, Strategy & IR Director Ian.Gibson@moneysupermarket.com / 07974 197742
William Clutterbuck, Maitland AMO wclutterbuck@maitland.co.uk / 07785 292617
Cautionary note regarding forward looking statements
This announcement includes statements that are forward looking
in nature. Forward looking statements involve known and unknown
risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors which may cause
the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to
be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking
statements. Except as required by the Listing Rules, Disclosure and
Transparency Rules and applicable law, the company undertakes no
obligation to update, revise or change any forward-looking
statements to reflect events or developments occurring on or after
the date such statements are published.
Business review
The Group traded profitably through 2020, with our technology
platform, secure infrastructure and cash generative business model
enabling us to respond well to the COVID-19 challenges.
Our purpose of "Helping households save money" has never been
more relevant. We are proud of how our colleagues rose to the
challenge, quickly adopting remote working and then continuing to
innovate for users throughout the year. We helped providers deal
with issues caused by COVID-19, for example 'triaging' traffic in
certain products to ease call centre pressure, and amending our
question sets to help decision making. Helpful product innovation
included a mortgage holiday calculator, a filter to exclude
broadband switches that required a home visit, and frequently
updated guides on the latest travel guidance.
MoneySavingExpert ("MSE") became the authoritative voice on
lockdown finance, attracting over 24m visits in 2020, and it
continues to have an outstanding net promoter score. During the
year we rationalised our weekly MSE 'Tip' email to 7m subscribers,
but still saw significantly increased levels of engagement. We also
updated the site's visual identity and introduced a clearer, more
intuitive layout. We launched two new journeys within MSE Cheap
Energy Club: with 'Pick Me A Tariff' a customer can weight what
preferences matter most to them and we display tariffs based on
that, while with Autoswitch a customer also signs up to a simple,
repeat switch every year based on those weighted preferences. 60k
users have signed up to Autoswitch and a further 70k have switched
via 'Pick Me A Tariff'. Both new journeys have improved conversion
compared with the standard energy comparison journey, and users
that have set preferences are showing greater engagement with
subsequent reminder and monitoring emails. Based on further testing
with users since launch, we will be rebranding Autoswitch to 'Pick
Me A Tariff every year'.
MoneySuperMarket ("MSM") saw 11.5m active customers in 2020 - a
lower figure than usual, due primarily to the significant reduction
in the normally high-volume travel insurance market. We still
helped consumers save GBP2bn on their household bills and continued
to scale our profitable monitoring tools, which now have 2m users.
The new MSM dashboard, launched as a prototype in December,
combines monitoring information, recent enquiries, links to
relevant articles and prompts to save in further channels. It
presents this via an engaging user interface, with dynamic
promotion of content based on what we know of the user.
Decision Tech ("DT") continued its strong B2C and B2B growth.
The number of live B2B energy partners rose from 6 to 23 in 2020,
including comparison sites and fintechs such as Snoop, Revolut and
Zopa. Our mortgages joint venture with Podium also progressed in
what was a difficult year for the mortgage market due to tightened
lending criteria. We became the first price comparison website to
launch a mortgage 'decision in principle' offering in February,
with Nationwide, and launched a further, similar product with
Santander in November. We added five Product Transfer options,
allowing customers to easily re-mortgage to a new deal with their
current provider - taking our total now to seven.
We were proud to move "Beyond Carbon Neutral" in 2020,
offsetting 150% of our carbon footprint. Our partnership with the
Prince's Trust is ongoing and we reached our fundraising target of
GBP100,000 in the year. We also supported local charities,
including local food banks, and our Ewloe catering team delivered
up to 750 meals a week to people impacted by COVID-19. Throughout
2020 MSE continued to donate to the MSE Charity, which gives grants
of up to GBP7,500 to UK not-for-profit groups that provide
education, information and support to help people manage their
money better.
We are committed to embracing and promoting diversity, inclusion
and equal opportunities; in 2020 we were recognised as number 17 on
the Inclusive Companies Top 50 UK Employer List, an improvement of
19 places since 2019.
Looking ahead - evolving our strategy
Today we set out an update to our strategy, which has three
major objectives:
-- Efficient acquisition
We will attract consumers to our sites in the most
cost-effective way. This means optimising our approach to PPC, to
SEO, and to above-the-line marketing spend.
We can deliver efficiencies in our PPC bidding through better
use of data and a more sophisticated bidding platform. We plan to
migrate bidding platform by the end of H1 to enable this and have
already made good, early progress on modernising our data
infrastructure to allow bidding to a more granular level.
SEO drives substantial volumes of free search traffic to our
site. We have accelerated changes to our content management
platform and some channels are now fully live with faster page
speed, leaner and more efficient pages, and other technical
advantages. These changes should benefit our natural search
rankings. The updated platform will also help us deploy new content
faster onto the site.
Above-the-line marketing remains an important driver of traffic
to our sites. We will be working to more sharply define the MSM
brand proposition to the consumer.
-- Retain and grow
We will improve customer retention, cross-sell and engagement.
This means continuing to develop our products to help customers
monitor their bills, to remind them of policy end and other key
dates, and to more generally engage them to find other ways to
save. We will continue to simplify and shorten comparison journeys
for returning users.
These developments will result in significant improvements to
the MSM dashboard experience, and to our 'next best action'
suggestions to consumers. These will be highlighted consistently to
consumers across email marketing as well as web and app
notifications. We will launch tariff expiry notifications to MSM
energy customers in the coming months.
-- Expanding our offer
We will seek attractive opportunities to grow and develop the
potential of the Group further. This could be new channels, new
distribution routes or targeting new customer bases. We have been
pleased with our successful acquisition of Decision Tech and the
capabilities it has brought to the Group. We remain open to further
M&A to access adjacent growth areas or technologies and skills
that enhance our core offer.
In the immediate term expanding our offer means continuing to
drive the good B2B growth of Decision Tech. It also encompasses our
work to drive the digitisation of mortgages via our joint venture
with Podium.
Supporting infrastructure and capabilities
These objectives are supported by a common platform that is
highly scalable - additional revenue brings only a low marginal
cost.
Data is key to delivering our strategy. In 2021 we are
modernising our data infrastructure and related capabilities. This
will shorten and simplify internal processes, as well as delivering
significant benefits to our users.
Among other things, this will allow us to capture more customer
journey data, to use customer data to surface the right 'next best
action' for them, and to streamline their subsequent enquiries.
Already in 2021 we have started transitioning to Google Cloud
Platform as our primary data lake and implementing Braze CRM to
drive more efficient, coordinated and focused marketing
campaigns.
In January 2021 we completed the acquisition of CYTI, our
partner for our life, pet and travel insurance journeys. The
acquisition gives us direct control of those journeys and the
associated consumer data. Relative to peers we operate more of our
channels directly and see this as an ongoing competitive
advantage.
Structure and ways of working
We have made several structural changes to boost accountability,
clarify decision-making and accelerate delivery. A single General
Manager now heads each of our verticals with ownership of the
relevant commercial, product and tech resource and priorities.
Within Home Services we have recently brought MSM, MSE and DT's B2C
brands under common management, at the same time bringing some of
DT's product expertise and ways of working into the heart of the
Group. Finally, we have added senior data representation to both
the company and the leadership team.
Key performance indicators
The Board reviews key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess
the performance of the business against the Group's strategy. We
measure five key strategic KPIs: estimated customer savings, net
promoter score, active users, revenue per active user and marketing
margin.
31 December 31 December
2020 2019
Estimated customer savings GBP2.0bn GBP2.0bn
Net promoter score 72 74
Active users 11.5m 13.1m
Revenue per active user GBP16.19 GBP16.40
Marketing margin 57% 61%
--------------------------- ----------- -----------
Estimated customer savings: This is calculated by multiplying
sales volume against the average saving per product for core
channels, the balance of the calculation is a company
estimation.
Net promoter score: The 12 monthly rolling average NPS (1 Jan
2020 - 31 Dec 2020 inclusive) measured by YouGov Brand Index
service Recommend Score weighted by revenue for MoneySuperMarket
and MoneySavingExpert to create a Group-wide NPS . Note that prior
to 2020, TravelSupermarket was included within this KPI and thus
the 2019 figure has been restated.
Active users: The number of unique accounts running enquiries in
our core seven channels for MoneySuperMarket (car insurance, home
insurance, life insurance, travel insurance, credit cards, loans
and energy) in the last 12-month period.
Revenue per active user: The revenue for the core seven
MoneySuperMarket channels divided by the number of active users for
the last 12 months.
Marketing margin: The inverse relationship between revenue and
total marketing spend represented as a percentage. Total marketing
spend includes the direct cost of sales plus distribution
expenses.
The significant travel restrictions, the tightening of lending
criteria for credit products, and other COVID-19 issues affected
several KPIs in 2020.
Despite this , we estimate MoneySuperMarket customers again
saved GBP2.0bn in 2020. The lower volumes in credit cards and
travel insurance from Q2 onwards were offset by higher savings
levels in car insurance, and in energy during the first half.
Group NPS remained healthy at 72, with the decline of two points
late in the year reflecting a trend experienced across our peer
group . This strong score demonstrates that trust and satisfaction
in our brands remains high, especially with MSE.
Travel insurance is a high-volume channel but, in comparison
with other channels, has a lower revenue per policy for the Group
and lower savings levels for consumers, given the relatively low
cost of the product. The reduction in travel insurance volumes was
the main reason why our active users , which peaked in Q1, closed
the year significantly lower than 2019.
Revenue per active user continued to grow until the end of Q1
before falling sharply in Q2 and ending the year at GBP16.19. This
was primarily due to a reduction in conversion in cards and loans,
partially offset by improved conversion in car insurance .
The marketing margin reduction reflects the GBP5m increase in
above the line marketing spend and the dynamics in gross profit
both described below.
Financial review
Group revenue decreased 11% to GBP344.9m (2019: GBP388.4m), with
profit after tax declining 27% to GBP69.3m (2019: GBP94.9m). When
reviewing performance, the Board reviews several adjusted measures,
including adjusted EBITDA which decreased 24% to GBP107.8m (2019:
GBP141.5m) and adjusted EPS which decreased 28% to 13.1p (2019:
18.2p), as shown in the table below.
Extract from the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive
Income
for the year ended 31 December
2020 2019 Growth
GBPm GBPm %
------------------------------ ------------------------- ----------------- ------
Revenue 344.9 388.4 (11)
Cost of sales (115.4) (122.0) (5)
------------------------------ ------------------------- ----------------- ------
Gross profit 229.5 266.4 (14)
Operating costs (142.5) (148.1) (4)
------------------------------ ------------------------- ----------------- ------
Operating profit 87.0 118.3 (26)
Amortisation and depreciation 20.8 20.9 (0)
EBITDA 107.8 139.2 (23)
------------------------------ ------------------------- ----------------- ------
Reconciliation to adjusted EBITDA:
EBITDA 107.8 139.2 (23)
Strategy review and associated reorganisation - 2.3 n.m
costs
Adjusted EBITDA 107.8 141.5 (24)
----------------------------------------------- ----- ----- ----
Adjusted earnings per share**:
* basic (p) 13.1 18.2 (28)
* diluted (p) 13.1 18.2 (28)
----------------------------------------------- ----- ----- ----
**A reconciliation to adjusted EPS is included within note
5.
Alternative performance measures
We use a number of alternative (non-Generally Accepted
Accounting Practice ("non-GAAP")) financial measures which are not
defined within IFRS. The Board reviews adjusted EBITDA and adjusted
EPS alongside GAAP measures when reviewing the performance of the
Group. Executive management bonus targets include an adjusted
EBITDA measure and the long-term incentive plans include an
adjusted basic EPS measure.
The adjustments are separately disclosed and are usually items
that are non-underlying to trading activities and that are
significant in size. Alternative performance measures used within
these statements are accompanied with a reference to the relevant
GAAP measure and the adjustments made. These measures should be
considered alongside the IFRS measures.
Revenue
for the year ended 31 December
2020 2019 Growth
GBPm GBPm %
-------------- ----- ----- ------
Insurance 172.9 188.4 (8)
Money 62.8 86.0 (27)
Home Services 68.8 68.6 0
Other 40.4 45.4 (11)
--------------- ----- ----- ------
Total 344.9 388.4 (11)
--------------- ----- ----- ------
The impact of COVID-19 on both the consumer and provider side of
our business caused the reduction in revenue on 2019. Excluding
travel channels (TSM and travel insurance), Group revenue fell 4%
year on year.
Performance in the early months of the year was good as Money
returned to growth and the prospect of the pandemic drove strong
demand for travel and life insurance (Insurance revenue was +8% in
Q1). However revenue declined in the Insurance, Money and Other
verticals from Q2 onwards as the impact of the pandemic hit.
Insurance
Insurance was impacted by travel restrictions ( materially
reducing travel insurance revenue from Q2 onwards), the temporary
closure of the housing market (home-moving being a trigger for both
home and life insurance switching) and, particularly during the Q2
lockdown, a slowdown in car insurance.
During the first lockdown in Spring, the sharp reduction in car
purchases and less mileage driven (meaning fewer accidents) reduced
two major triggers for car insurance switching. Home and life
insurance switching also suffered, given the effective closure of
the housing market.
As lockdown measures eased in Q3, car switching volumes across
the market improved, driven by pent-up demand, before moderating in
Q4 (which included a second, lighter lockdown). Life and home
insurance remained in year-on-year decline for most of the
year.
The travel restrictions in place for most of the year meant that
demand for travel insurance was extremely low. Excluding travel
insurance, Insurance revenue would have been broadly flat on
2019.
Money
Money revenue fell 27 %. The start of the year saw a return to
revenue growth in both borrowing and banking products before a
material decline in performance driven by COVID-19. An initial drop
in consumer demand for credit products soon reversed, but
significant supply issues remained as providers tightened their
lending criteria and consumers saw fewer attractive search results
as a result. This impacted conversion and therefore reduced gross
margin rate.
Towards the end of the year we saw a modest recovery in
conversion as lending criteria loosened marginally.
Banking suffered from poor product availability for most of the
year.
Home Services
Home Services revenue was stable year on year, following very
strong growth (+39%) in 2019. The first half of the year saw strong
performance, as our ability to secure compelling offers and the
attractive customer savings levels in the energy market were
amplified by MSE's editorial focus. In the second half growth
slowed as the level of savings available to customers fell, and
energy market switching levels reduced. The lower savings available
were caused by the energy price cap reduction which, combined with
a rise in wholesale prices, meant fewer attractive tariffs were
available from providers.
Home Comms performed well throughout the year, contributing
almost 25% of revenue in Home Services, and seeing double-digit
growth each quarter. Broadband was a significant driver of this,
aided by consumer demand during lockdown and strong offers from
providers.
Other
Within Other, Decision Tech's B2B business performed well,
maintaining its good momentum with continued innovation in customer
journeys. The B2C businesses also grew strongly. As mentioned,
demand and supply for TSM were heavily affected by travel
restrictions, leading to negligible revenue for most of the
year.
Gross profit
Gross margin fell from 68.6% to 66.5% in 2020.
Approximately two thirds of this decline was due to the poorer
conversion in Money that began in Q2 and continued for the rest of
the year. The rest of the decline was mainly due to volatility in
SEO positions for key insurance terms, with SEO positions in H1
weaker on average than in H1 2019. This means a lower proportion of
customers came to us via natural search, leading to a fall in gross
margin.
Gross margin benefited from the decline in travel insurance, a
lower margin channel, but this was broadly offset by growth at
Decision Tech, with B2B margins being structurally lower than the
B2C margins of the rest of the Group. We continued to see a shift
to mobile devices, where margins are lower than on desktop, with
57.4% of MSM visits coming from a mobile device (2 019:53.6% ). In
2020 however, we saw a significant decline in tablet mix, resulting
in a shift towards (higher-margin) desktop. This shift broadly
offset the 2020 impact from increased mobile mix.
Operating costs
for the year ended 31 December
2020 2019 Growth
GBPm GBPm %
------------------------------------------------------ ----- ----- ------
Distribution expenses 34.3 29.9 15
Administrative expenses 108.2 118.2 (8)
------------------------------------------------------- ----- ----- ------
Operating costs 142.5 148.1 (4)
------------------------------------------------------- ----- ----- ------
Within administration expenses
Amortisation of software 13.9 14.0 (1)
Amortisation of acquisition related intangible assets 2.4 2.4 0
Depreciation 4.5 4.5 0
------------------------------------------------------- ----- ----- ------
Our planned GBP5m increase in brand marketing spend drove the
increase in distribution expenses for the year.
Administrative expenses decreased by GBP10m driven primarily by
materially lower incentive accruals, as well as tighter control of
discretionary spend in response to COVID-19.
We anticipate that incentive costs will return in 2021. Overall,
we expect operating costs (excluding depreciation and amortisation)
to be slightly ahead of 2019 levels.
Adjusting items*
for the year ended 31 December
2020 2019 Growth
GBPm GBPm %
------------------------------------------------------ ---- ---- ------
Amortisation of acquisition related intangible assets 2.4 2.4 0
Change in fair value of financial instrument 3.5 - n.m
Strategy review and associated reorganisation costs - 2.3 n.m
5.9 4.7 n.m
------------------------------------------------------ ---- ---- ------
* Amortisation of acquisition related intangible assets and the
change in fair value of financial instrument are not included in
EBITDA and therefore are only adjusting items in the adjusted EPS
calculation. In 2019, strategy review and associated reorganisation
costs were included in EBITDA and so were adjusting items in both
the adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS calculations.
The acquisitions of MSE in 2012 and Decision Tech in 2018 gave
rise to intangible assets (excluding goodwill) of GBP12.9m and
GBP8.7m respectively. These are each being amortised over a period
of 3-10 years with a total charge of GBP2.4m (2019: GBP2.4m).
The change in fair value of financial instruments relates to a
gain recognised on a call option to acquire the remaining share
capital of CYTI, an existing technology partner for life, pet and
travel insurance in which we already held a 28% investment at year
end. Given the non-underlying nature and size of this gain, this
has been treated as an adjusting item. More information on the CYTI
investment is detailed below.
Prior year adjusting items included GBP2.3m of strategy related
costs associated with the strategy review and reorganisation,
including the Manchester relocation.
Dividends
The Board has recommended a final dividend of 8.61 pence per
share (2019: 8.61p), making the proposed full year dividend 11.71
pence per share (2019: 11.71p). This reflects the ongoing strong
cash generation of the business, strong balance sheet and the
Board's confidence in the future prospects of the Group.
The final dividend will be paid on 20 May 2021 to shareholders
on the register on 9 April 2021, subject to approval by
shareholders at the Annual General Meeting to be held on 13 May
2021 .
Tax
The effective tax rate of 21.1% (2019: 18.2%) is above the UK
standard rate of 19.0% (2019: 19.0%). This is due to a charge
arising from the revaluation of deferred tax liabilities following
the Government announcement that the standard rate of corporation
tax will no longer fall to 17% in the future. The Group expects the
underlying effective rate to continue to approximate to the
standard rate of corporation tax.
Earnings per share
Basic reported earnings per share for the year ended 31 December
2020 was 12.9p (2019: 17.7p). Adjusted basic earnings per ordinary
share decreased 28% to 13.1p per share. This represents a larger
decrease than at EBITDA level, due primarily to depreciation and
amortisation charges remaining broadly flat year on year .
The adjusted earnings per ordinary share is based on profit
before tax before the adjusting items detailed above. A tax rate of
19.0% (2019: 19.0%) is applied to calculate adjusted profit after
tax.
Cashflow and balance sheet
The Group generated robust operating cash flows of GBP83.9m
(2019: GBP113.7m) and finished the year with a net cash position of
GBP23.6m (2019: GBP24.2m).
Working capital remained flat as both receivables and payables
remained at similar levels to 2019. Whilst trade receivables fell
in line with revenue, prepayments increased as the Group renewed
certain key technology infrastructure contracts, prepaying for
several years.
In terms of creditors, c.GBP8m of VAT payments were deferred
into 2021 as the Group fell under the Government's automatic VAT
payment deferral scheme. This was largely offset by a significant
decrease in other payables due to the lack of incentive accrual at
year end.
In the year there was also a one-off change to HMRC's
corporation tax payment schedule, which resulted in corporation tax
payments being GBP6.1m higher than our income statement charge. The
Group also repaid GBP4.0m of loan notes which were part of the
deferred consideration on acquisition of Decision Tech. At 31
December 2020, GBP0.8m of this deferred consideration remained
outstanding and is due to be settled during 2021.
In December, the Group extended the duration of its revolving
credit facility ("RCF"), replacing one lender and slightly reducing
the committed funds to GBP90m. The facility now matures in
September 2023. The Group also has an accordion option to apply for
up to GBP100m of additional funds during the term of the RCF. At
year end, the RCF was undrawn.
Capital expenditure
During the year, we invested GBP1.3m refurbishing our Ewloe site
creating a modern workplace for employees based there. All offices
within our estate are now either recently refurbished or relatively
recently opened, following the Spinningfields, Manchester office
opening in 2019.
Our technology capital expenditure continued to fall in 2020 to
GBP9.2m (2019: GBP10.6m), due to the continuing shift towards
operating expenditure. In 2021, we expect technology capex to be in
the region of GBP10m and the technology amortisation charge to be
in the region of GBP15m.
The amortisation charge for 2021 will include accelerated
amortisation of several data infrastructure assets. This is due to
a transition to Google Cloud Platform in 2021 as part of the change
to our data strategy announced today to make data more accessible
and allow faster, more efficient and insightful analysis and
decision making.
CYTI investment
In March 2020, the Group acquired a 28% shareholding in CYTI
(for GBP2.8m) and took a call option to purchase the remainder of
the business. The investment forged closer links with an important
partner in our travel, life and pet insurance channels and gave the
Group the option for more control over these key channels. In
January 2021, the Group acquired the remaining share capital of
CYTI for a cash amount of GBP1. 4m (see note 12 to the financial
statements below).
The COVID-19 travel restrictions materially impacted CYTI's
financial results in 2020. Our option to acquire the business was
based on a fixed multiple of profit after tax for the trailing
twelve months before acquisition. This meant that at 31 December
2020 the option strike price was advantageous compared to the
longer term valuation of CYTI, assuming the travel sector and
therefore the profits of CYTI recover from the effects of the
pandemic. This resulted in the call option having a value of
GBP3.5m at year end which has been recognised as a derivative
financial asset and a fair value gain on financial instrument was
credited to the income statement.
FCA General Insurance review
The FCA is due to publish its policy statement on General
Insurance pricing during Q2 2021.
We are supportive of the intent behind the reforms, which aligns
to our purpose of helping households save money, and have engaged
with the FCA to shape the detail of the reforms. The FCA proposed
that the window for implementation would be four months after its
final statement is published, although we understand there will be
consistent market participant feedback that a longer implementation
period would be advisable.
We particularly welcome the FCA proposal to make it easier for
consumers to opt out of policy auto-renewal across general
insurance. This is a consumer pain-point that can lead to them
paying higher costs - and is a barrier to switching.
The proposals to end 'price walking' within car and home
insurance are likely to dampen switching levels in the medium to
long term, which could mean customers find themselves on
sub-optimal policies as their needs evolve. 'Price walking' is just
one of several triggers for consumers to compare and switch
policies. Other triggers include insurer-led changes (e.g. risk
re-pricing, market premium inflation), direct risk changes (e.g.
new car, accident), extrinsic risk changes (e.g. house move,
neighbourhood flooding) and other reasons (e.g. poor service or
ingrained price comparison behaviours).
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
for the year ended 31 December
Note 2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
Revenue 2 344.9 388.4
Cost of sales (115.4) (122.0)
------------ --------
Gross profit 229.5 266.4
Distribution expenses (34.3) (29.9)
Administrative expenses (108.2) (118.2)
Operating profit 87.0 118.3
Change in fair value of financial
instruments 8 3.5 -
Net finance costs 3 (2.0) (2.0)
Share of loss of joint venture 8 (0.7) (0.3)
Profit before taxation 87.8 116.0
Taxation 4 (18.5) (21.1)
------------ --------
Profit for the period 69.3 94.9
Other comprehensive income 2.6 2.1
------------ --------
Total comprehensive income for
the period 71.9 97.0
============ ========
Earnings per share:
Basic earnings per ordinary share
(pence) 5 12.9 17.7
Diluted earnings per ordinary
share (pence) 5 12.9 17.7
Consolidated statement of financial position
as at 31 December
Note 2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
Assets
Non-current assets
Property, plant and
equipment 42.6 44.7
Intangible assets 7 170.8 177.9
Equity accounted investments 8 2.6 0.5
Other investments 9 8.2 5.3
Total non-current assets 224.2 228.4
------- -------
Current assets
Derivative financial
assets 8 3.5 -
Trade and other receivables 45.1 47.4
Prepayments 8.8 6.3
Cash and cash equivalents 23.6 24.2
Total current assets 81.0 77.9
Total assets 305.2 306.3
======= =======
Liabilities
Non-current liabilities
Other payables 30.7 37.3
Deferred tax liabilities 11.4 10.8
------- -------
Total non-current liabilities 42.1 48.1
------- -------
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 54.6 52.2
Current tax liabilities - 6.7
Total current liabilities 54.6 58.9
------- -------
Total liabilities 96.7 107.0
------- -------
Equity
Share capital 0.1 0.1
Share premium 205.0 204.7
Reserve for own shares (2.8) (2.9)
Retained earnings (57.2) (63.4)
Other reserves 63.4 60.8
------- -------
Total equity 208.5 199.3
Total equity and liabilities 305.2 306.3
Consolidated statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 31 December
Reserve
Share Share for own Retained Other
capital premium shares earnings reserves Total
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
At 1 January 2019 0.1 204.0 (2.6) (59.7) 58.7 200.5
---- ------ ------ -------- ----- --------
Profit for the period - - - 94.9 - 94.9
Other comprehensive income - - - - 2.1 2.1
---- ------ ------ -------- ----- --------
Total comprehensive income - - - 94.9 2.1 97.0
Purchase of shares by
employee trusts - - (0.5) - - (0.5)
Exercise of LTIP awards - - 0.2 (0.2) - -
New shares issued 0.0 0.7 - - - 0.7
Equity dividends paid - - - (100.0) - (100.0)
Share-based payments - - - 1.6 - 1.6
---- ------ ------ -------- ----- --------
At 31 December 2019 0.1 204.7 (2.9) (63.4) 60.8 199.3
---- ------ ------ -------- ----- --------
At 1 January 2020 0.1 204.7 (2.9) (63.4) 60.8 199.3
---- ------ ------ -------- ----- --------
Profit for the period - - - 69.3 - 69.3
Other comprehensive income - - - - 2.6 2.6
---- ------ ------ -------- ----- --------
Total comprehensive income - - - 69.3 2.6 71.9
Purchase of shares by
employee trusts - - (0.9) - - (0.9)
Exercise of LTIP awards - - 1.0 (1.0) - -
New shares issued 0.0 0.3 - - - 0.3
Equity dividends paid - - - (62.8) - (62.8)
Share-based payments - - - 0.7 - 0.7
At 31 December 2020 0.1 205.0 (2.8) (57.2) 63.4 208.5
---- ------ ------ -------- ----- --------
Consolidated statement of cash flows
for the year ended 31 December
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
Operating activities
Profit for the year 69.3 94.9
Adjustments to reconcile Group profit
to net cash flow from operating
activities:
Amortisation of intangible assets 16.3 16.4
Depreciation of property, plant
and equipment 4.5 4.5
Share of loss of joint ventures 0.7 0.3
Change in fair value of financial
instruments (3.5) -
Net finance costs 2.0 2.0
Equity settled share-based payment
transactions 0.7 1.6
Tax charge 18.5 21.1
Changes in trade and other receivables (0.2) (4.1)
Changes in trade and other payables 0.2 (0.9)
Tax paid (24.6) (22.1)
Net cash flow from operating activities 83.9 113.7
------ -------
Investing activities
Interest received 0.1 0.2
Acquisition of investments (7.1) (2.3)
Acquisition of property, plant and
equipment (1.8) (4.5)
Acquisition of intangible assets (8.8) (10.7)
Net cash used in investing activities (17.6) (17.3)
------ -------
Financing activities
Dividends paid (62.8) (100.0)
Proceeds from issue of shares 0.3 0.7
Share purchases by employee trusts (0.9) (0.5)
Proceeds from borrowings 55.0 49.0
Repayment of borrowings (55.0) (64.0)
Interest paid (1.7) (1.4)
Repayment of lease liabilities (1.8) (0.8)
Net cash used in financing activities (66.9) (117.0)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (0.6) (20.6)
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January 24.2 44.8
Cash and cash equivalents at 31
December 23.6 24.2
------ -------
Notes
1. Basis of preparation
Moneysupermarket.com Group plc (the Company) is a public limited
company registered and domiciled in England and Wales and listed on
the London Stock Exchange.
The financial statements are prepared on the historical cost
basis. Comparative figures presented in the financial statements
represent the year ended 31 December 2019.
The financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as
those for the year ended 31 December 2019.
Going concern
The Directors have prepared the consolidated financial
statements on a going concern basis for the following reasons. The
Group is profitable, cash generative and has no external debt other
than the revolving credit facility, "RCF", (GBPnil drawn as at 31
December 2020 and post year end of the GBP90m available). The
operations of the business have been impacted by COVID-19 and
whilst revenue and profit are lower than for the same period in
2019, the Group remains profitable, cash generative and compliant
with the covenants of the RCF.
The Directors have prepared cash flow forecasts for the Group
for a period in excess of 12 months from the date of approval of
the consolidated financial statements and have also considered the
impact of COVID-19 upon the Group's business, financial position,
and liquidity in severe, but plausible, downside scenarios, using
stress testing and scenario modelling techniques. The scenarios
modelled take into account the impacts of COVID-19 and include a
base scenario derived from the Group's latest forecasts. The
severe, but plausible, downside scenarios modelled, under a
detailed exercise at a channel level, included minimal revenue
recovery over the period of the cash flow forecasts, while
conservatively assuming no operational cost mitigation actions are
taken to reduce the cost base where reduced revenues are forecast.
The impact these scenarios have on the financial resources,
including the extent of utilisation of the available RCF and impact
on covenant calculations has been modelled. The Directors also
considered possible mitigating circumstances and actions in the
event of such scenarios occurring, including the availability of
the Group's banking facilities, reduction in the ordinary dividend
payment, removal of future special dividends/share buybacks or the
slowdown of capital expenditure.
The scenarios tested showed that the Group will be able to
operate at adequate levels of liquidity for a period in excess of
12 months from the date of signing the consolidated financial
statements. The Directors, therefore, consider that the Group has
adequate resources to continue in operational existence for a
period in excess of 12 months from the date of approval of the
consolidated financial statements and have prepared them on a going
concern basis.
2. Segmental information
This year the Group has incorporated a profit measure into its
segmental reporting. This measure reflects the way performance is
assessed internally. The Group has a number of teams, capabilities
and infrastructure which are used to support all verticals e.g.
data warehousing and brand marketing. These are shared costs of the
Group rather than "central costs". We have concluded there is no
direct or accurate basis for allocating these costs to the
operating segments and therefore they are disclosed separately,
which is how they are presented to the Chief Operating Decision
Maker.
The Group's reportable segments are Insurance, Money and Home
Services. These segments represent individual trading verticals
which are reported separately for revenue and directly attributable
expenses. Net finance costs, share of loss of equity accounted
investments, tax and net assets are only reviewed by the Chief
Operating Decision Maker at a consolidated level and therefore have
not been allocated between segments. All assets held by the Group
are located in the UK.
The operating segments within 'Other' do not meet the
quantitative threshold for reportable segments and have been
aggregated.
The following summary describes how revenue is generated for
each segment.
Segment Revenue products and services
------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------
Insurance Customer completes transaction for insurance policy
on any of the following: provider website, our website
or a telephone call.
Money Customer completes transaction for money products
such as credit cards, loans and mortgages on provider
website.
Home Services Customer completes transaction for home services
products such as energy and broadband on provider
website.
Other Customer completes transaction for other products
such as mobile, broadband, and travel on provider
website or our website. This includes B2B revenues.
------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------
Shared
Insurance Money Home Services Other costs Total
Segment GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
-------------------------------- ------------- --------- ----------------- -------- -------- --------
Year ended 31 December
2020
Revenue 172.9 62.8 68.8 40.4 - 344.9
Directly attributable
expenses (74.6) (26.0) (26.5) (28.5) (81.5) (237.1)
-------------------------------- ------------- --------- ----------------- -------- -------- --------
Adj. EBITDA contribution 98.3 36.8 42.3 11.9 (81.5) 107.8
Adj. EBITDA contribution
margin 57% 59% 62% 30% - 31%
Depreciation and amortisation (20.8)
Change in fair value
of financial instruments 3.5
Net finance costs (2.0)
Share of loss of equity
accounted investments (0.7)
-------------------------------- ------------- --------- ----------------- -------- -------- --------
Profit before tax 87.8
Taxation (18.5)
-------------------------------- ------------- --------- ----------------- -------- -------- --------
Profit for the year 69.3
-------------------------------- ------------- --------- ----------------- -------- -------- --------
Shared
Insurance Money Home Services Other costs Total
Segment GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
------------------------------- ---------- ------- -------------- ------- ------- --------
Year ended 31 December
2019
Revenue 188.4 86.0 68.6 45.4 - 388.4
Directly attributable
expenses (79.7) (29.7) (25.7) (30.9) (80.9) (246.9)
------------------------------- ---------- ------- -------------- ------- ------- --------
Adj. EBITDA contribution 108.7 56.3 42.9 14.5 (80.9) 141.5
Adj. EBITDA contribution
margin 58% 65% 63% 32% - 36%
Depreciation and amortisation (20.9)
Strategy and reorganisation
costs (2.3)
Net finance costs (2.0)
Share of loss of equity
accounted investments (0.3)
------------------------------- ---------- ------- -------------- ------- ------- --------
Profit before tax 116.0
Taxation (21.1)
------------------------------- ---------- ------- -------------- ------- ------- --------
Profit for the year 94.9
------------------------------- ---------- ------- -------------- ------- ------- --------
Adjusted EBITDA contribution margin is calculated by dividing
adjusted EBITDA contribution by revenue.
Insurance adjusted EBITDA contribution margin fell slightly from
58% to 57% in the year. Insurance is a largely VAT exempt vertical
and in 2020 the Group's VAT recovery rate fell. This resulted in
higher irrecoverable VAT costs in the Insurance vertical. Insurance
margins benefitted from the reduction of travel insurance, which is
a relatively low margin channel, but suffered from the year-on-year
loss of SEO positions during H1 - the two impacts broadly netting
out.
Money was impacted by lower conversion rates due to tightened
lending criteria, which led to a margin decline of 6 percentage
points for the vertical. Home Services margin declined slightly due
to profitable growth in broadband paid acquisition.
Within Other, DT's strong performance and the decline in TSM
revenues led to mix shift towards B2B and away from B2C channels.
This led to a decrease in margins to 30% from 32% due to the
structurally lower margins for B2B businesses.
3. Net finance costs
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
Finance income 0.1 0.2
( 2.2
Finance costs (2.1) )
------ ------
(2.0) (2.0)
====== ======
4. Taxation
The Group's consolidated effective tax rate for the year ended
31 December 2020 was 21.1% (2019: 18.2%). The increase in effective
tax rate is mainly due to a deferred tax charge arising from a
change in the expected future standard rate of corporation tax.
This follows the Government announcement on 17 March 2020 that the
planned reduction in corporation tax from 19% to 17% would no
longer take place. In addition, the comparative effective tax rate
includes a favourable prior year adjustment.
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
Current tax:
Current tax on income for the year 17.6 22.9
Adjustment in relation to prior
period 0.3 (2.5)
------ ------
17.9 20.4
------ ------
Deferred tax
Origination and reversal of temporary
differences (0.8) (0.3)
Adjustment due to changes in tax 1.3 -
rate
Adjustment in relation to prior
period 0.1 1.0
------ ------
0.6 0.7
------ ------
Tax expense for the year 18.5 21.1
====== ======
5. Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share
Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profit or
loss for the year attributable to ordinary equity holders of the
Company, by the weighted average number of ordinary shares
outstanding during the year. The Company's own shares held by
employee trusts are excluded when calculating the weighted average
number of ordinary shares outstanding.
Diluted earnings per share
Diluted earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profit
or loss for the year attributable to ordinary equity holders of the
Company, by the weighted average number of ordinary shares
outstanding during the year plus the weighted average number of
ordinary shares that would be issued on the conversion of all
dilutive potential ordinary shares into ordinary shares.
Earnings per share
Basic and diluted earnings per share have been calculated on the
following basis:
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
Profit after taxation attributable to ordinary
shareholders 69.3 94.9
------- -------
Basic weighted average ordinary shares in issue
(millions) 536.4 536.3
Dilutive effect of share based instruments (millions) 0.1 0.1
------- -------
Diluted weighted average ordinary shares in issue
(millions) 536.5 536.4
======= =======
Basic earnings per ordinary share (pence) 12.9 17.7
Diluted earnings per ordinary share (pence) 12.9 17.7
Adjusted basic and diluted earnings per share have been calculated
as follows:
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
Profit before tax 87.8 116.0
Amortisation of acquisition related intangible
assets 2.4 2.4
Strategy related one-off costs - 2.3
Change in fair value of financial instruments (3.5) -
86.7 120.7
Estimated taxation at 19% (2019: 19%) (16.5) (22.9)
------- -------
Profit for adjusted EPS purposes 70.2 97.8
======= =======
Basic adjusted earnings per share (pence) 13.1 18.2
Diluted adjusted earnings per share (pence) 13.1 18.2
6. Dividends
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
Equity dividends on ordinary shares:
Final dividend for 2019: 8.61 pence
per share
(2018: 8.10 pence per share) 46.2 43.4
Special dividend for 2019: GBPnil
(2018: 7.46 pence per share) - 40.0
Interim dividend for 2020: 3.10 pence
per share
(2019: 3.10 pence per share) 16.6 16.6
----- ------
62.8 100.0
===== ======
Proposed for approval (not recognised
as a liability as at 31 December):
Final dividend for 2020: 8.61 pence per
share (2019: 8.61 pence per share) 46.2 46.2
===== ======
7. Intangible assets
Market Customer Customer Technology Goodwill Total
related relationships lists related
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
Cost
At 1 January 2019 155.3 69.3 2.3 98.1 212.6 537.6
Additions - - - 10.6 - 10.6
At 31 December
2019 155.3 69.3 2.3 108.7 212.6 548.2
Amortisation
At 1 January 2019 145.1 69.3 2.3 62.9 74.3 353.9
Charged in period 1.7 - - 14.7 - 16.4
-------- -------------- ----------- ---------- -------- ------
At 31 December
2019 146.8 69.3 2.3 77.6 74.3 370.3
======== ============== =========== ========== ======== ======
Net book value
At 1 January 2019 10.2 - - 35.2 138.3 183.7
At 31 December
2019 8.5 - - 31.1 138.3 177.9
======== ============== =========== ========== ======== ======
Cost
At 1 January 2020 155.3 69.3 2.3 108.7 212.6 548.2
Additions - - - 9.2 - 9.2
Disposals - (69.3) (2.3) (16.4) - (88.0)
-------- -------------- ----------- ---------- -------- ------
At 31 December
2020 155.3 - - 101.5 212.6 469.4
======== ============== =========== ========== ======== ======
Amortisation
At 1 January 2020 146.8 69.3 2.3 77.6 74.3 370.3
Charged in period 1.7 - - 14.6 - 16.3
Eliminated on
disposal - (69.3) (2.3) (16.4) - (88.0)
-------- -------------- ----------- ---------- -------- ------
At 31 December
2020 148.5 - - 75.8 74.3 298.6
======== ============== =========== ========== ======== ======
Net book value
At 1 January 2020 8.5 - - 31.1 138.3 177.9
At 31 December
2020 6.8 - - 25.7 138.3 170.8
======== ============== =========== ========== ======== ======
Asset disposals in the year include assets with gross book value
of GBP88.0m and GBPnil net book value that are no longer in use and
have therefore been retired.
8. Equity accounted investments
Podium CYTI
Solutions (Holdings)
Limited Limited
(50%) (28%) Total
GBPm GBPm GBPm
At 31 December 2019
Investment 1.0 - 1.0
Group share of loss brought
forward (0.2) - (0.2)
Group share of loss for the
period (0.3) - (0.3)
0.5 - 0.5
========== =========== =======
At 31 December 2020
Investment 1.0 2.8 3.8
Group share of loss brought
forward (0.5) - (0.5)
Group share of loss for the
period (0.5) (0.2) (0.7)
---------- ----------- -------
- 2.6 2.6
========== =========== =======
In March 2020, the Group acquired a 28% shareholding in CYTI
(Holdings) Limited for GBP2.8m and a call option to acquire the
remaining share capital. Given the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on
the travel sector at the balance sheet date, the asset was tested
for impairment and we have concluded that it is not impaired.
At 31 December 2020 the call option had a fair value of GBP3.5m.
This was determined using the income approach, discounting expected
future cash flows to their present value. Expected future cash
flows were derived from CYTI's latest forecasts, taking into
account the travel restrictions in place at the balance sheet date.
The cash flows were discounted using a cost of capital appropriate
to the risk of the underlying investment, reflecting the view of an
informed and independent market participant as required by the
accounting standards.
Subsequent to the year end, the Group acquired the remaining
share capital of CYTI (see note 12).
9. Other investments
1 January Fair value 31 December
2019 Additions uplift 2019
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
Truelayer Limited 0.4 - 1.1 1.5
Flagstone Investment Management
Limited - 2.0 0.5 2.5
By Miles Ltd 0.3 0.3 0.4 1.0
Plum Fintech Limited 0.2 - 0.1 0.3
---------- --------- ------------- -----------
0.9 2.3 2.1 5.3
========== ========= ============= ===========
1 January Fair value 31 December
2020 Additions uplift 2020
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
Truelayer Limited 1.5 - - 1.5
Flagstone Investment Management
Limited 2.5 0.3 0.8 3.6
By Miles Ltd 1.0 - 1.6 2.6
Plum Fintech Limited 0.3 - 0.2 0.5
---------- --------- ------------- -----------
5.3 0.3 2.6 8.2
========== ========= ============= ===========
Investments are measured at fair value, using the latest
unquoted share price of recent transactions, with updates made as
required considering market conditions at year end. This valuation
method falls under level 3 as defined by IFRS 13 Fair Value
Measurements.
Sensitivity analysis
For the fair value of investments, a 5% movement in share price
would have an effect of GBP0.4m (2019: GBP0.3m) on the total
value.
10. Related party transactions
Robin Freestone, Scilla Grimble, James Bilefield and Sally James
in total received dividends from the Group totalling GBP19,491
(2019: Robin Freestone, Scilla Grimble, Bruce Carnegie-Brown and
Sally James in total received GBP14,503).
11. Commitments and contingencies
At 31 December 2020, the Group was committed to incur capital
expenditure of GBP0.5m (2019: GBP1.4m).
Comparable with most companies of our size, the Group is a
defendant in a small number of disputes incidental to its
operations and from time to time is under regulatory scrutiny.
As a leading website operator, the Group occasionally
experiences operational issues as a result of technological
oversights that in some instances can lead to customer detriment,
dispute and potentially cash outflows. The Group has a professional
indemnity insurance policy in order to mitigate liabilities arising
out of events such as this. The contingencies outlined above are
not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Group.
12. Post balance sheet events
On 28 January 2021, the Group acquired the remaining share
capital of CYTI (Holdings) Limited. Total consideration for the
acquisition of CYTI comprises GBP1.4m cash, the fair value of the
option and the fair value of the 28% held as at the acquisition
date.
13.
Appendix
Statutory Information
The financial information set out above does not constitute the
Company's statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2020 or
31 December 2019 but is derived from those accounts. Statutory
accounts for 2019 have been delivered to the registrar of
companies, and those for 2020 will be delivered in due course. The
auditor has reported on those accounts; their reports were (i)
unqualified, (ii) did not include a reference to any matters to
which the auditor drew attention by way of emphasis without
qualifying their report and (iii) did not contain a statement under
section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.
The annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 December
2020 will be posted to shareholders in March 2021. The results for
the year ended 31 December 2020 were approved by the Board of
Directors on 17 February 2021 and are audited. The Annual General
Meeting will take place on 13 May 202 1. The final dividend will be
payable on 20 May 2021 to shareholders on the register at the close
of business on 9 April 2021 .
Presentation of figures
Certain figures contained in this announcement, including
financial information, have been subject to rounding adjustments.
Accordingly, in certain instances, the sum or percentage change of
the numbers contained in this announcement may not conform exactly
with the total figure given.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
FR SFLEFWEFSEIE
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 18, 2021 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
Moneysupermarket.com (LSE:MONY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Moneysupermarket.com (LSE:MONY)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024