Moneysupermarket posts 25% rise in quarterly revenue

30th Apr 2015 08:49

Moneysupermarket posted a 25% rise in headline quarterly revenue thanks to strong personal loans and credit card applications.The price comparison website took £76.6m in revenue over the first three months of the year, according to a trading update on Thursday. The company also attributed improved takings to a positive performance in its current accounts offering due to attractive interest rates on offer by some providers.Insurance revenues rose significantly to £36.8m from £12m same time last year. Moneysupermarket said the results reflected a much stronger quarter compared to the same period in 2014. However, it added that revenues started to slow in April as expected. Yet, the company remains confident of meeting its full-year expectations.Chief executive Peter Plumb said: "The first quarter saw strong growth across all three brands, with over 1.5m families saving money on their household bills through the Moneysupermarket Group. As expected, second quarter growth is slowing from the 25% performance of the first quarter."Investec analysts gave a 'buy' recommendation on the update and added: "We like MONY growth, platform/data investment and the focus on customer retention/cross-selling beyond 'mere price comparison'."However, Numis analysts were less optimistic, maintaining their 'sell' recommendation as they believe the company "is even more over-valued if you believe Google will at some point prove to be a disruptive competitor in the industry."Shares were up 1.74% to 280p on Thursday at 09:09.