Homeserve reiterates full-year guidance

5th Feb 2014 07:30

- Reaffirms full-year profits to be in line with expectations- Making good progress in stabilising its UK business- Continues to grow international businessHome emergency insurer Homeserve said it expects adjusted pre-tax profit for the year ending March 31st 2014 to be in line with market expectations.The boiler repair company said its UK business continues to trade in line with expectations. Customer numbers at December 31st were 2.1m and it is confident its UK business will stabilise customer numbers at a level of at least 2.0m.In January the group was told it faces a £34.5m fine following a regulatory investigation into alleged sales and marketing mis-sellingIn the US, Homeserve said business continues to develop. At March 31st customer numbers are expected to be around 15% higher than the prior year. Retention rates are robust and are expected to be around 80% for the full-year 2014.Elsewhere in France it said Doméo continues to deliver a good financial performance with retention rate at around 89%. It said discussions with potential new partners continue.Reparalia, its Spanish business, is expected to see customer numbers at year end to be around double that of the full-year 2013.Homeserve is entering new markets such as Italy while discussions continue with potential partners in Germany. It expects its New Markets segment to report an annual adjusted operating loss of around £6m. "We continue to have a strong balance sheet with significant headroom against our committed facilities of £250m," the group said in a company statement.CJ