Moneysupermarket sees Q4 slowdown but delivers double-digit full-year growth

Increasing demand for price-comparison services resulted in a decent fourth-quarter performance from website group Moneysupermarket.com, though growth did tail off towards the end of the year.

Group revenues were 4% higher year-on-year at £58.9m in the last three months of 2014, compared with 12% growth over the first three quarters.

As such, revenues for the year as a whole totalled £248.1m, up 10% on 2013.

2014 adjusted operating profits were forecast to rise 13% to £95m.

“More people are seeing how easy it is to compare products and prices online, for free, and save money,” said chief executive Peter Plumb.

"This has been a good final quarter to another strong year,” he said.

Insurance revenues, which account for around half of group sales, improved by 10% in the fourth quarter to £32m as flattening motor premiums increased the demand from motorists looking to switch providers.

Sales in the money division rose 19% to £13.5m with banks and loan providers “competing hard” to attract customers for credit cards, the company said.

However, home services revenues and sales in the MoneySavingExpert.com division were both weaker as expected due to strong comparatives with high demand for energy switching last year.

Sales in the smaller TravelSupermarket.com division were up 17% over last year and the business was said to be “thriving”.

The stock was up 0.4% at 226.7p in early deals on Friday.