Gocompare revenue up and profit rises on underlying basis thanks to rate hikes
Price comparison site Gocompare made a profit before tax of £21.6m in 2016, down 7.3% on the £23.3m it made in 2015.
The main cause was an £8m bill for professional fees from its split from sister insurance company Esure and separate listing on the London Stock Exchange.
The company fared far better with this cost stripped out. Adjusted operating profit, which excludes the listing cost, increased by 29.9% to £30m (2015: £23.1m).
The underlying Gocompare profit boost was driven by a 19.5% jump in revenue to £142.1m (2015: £118.9m), which offset increases is marketing spend and administrative expenses.
Within this, Gocompare GI (general insurance) revenue increased 17.4% to £133.7m (2015: £113.9m), which Gocompare said was partly caused by increases in car premiums prompting customers to switch using price comparison sites.
It added that insurance revenue was also boosted by the company’s Gio Compario advertising campaign.
Non-insurance revenue, which the company calls its strategic initiatives segment, saw revenues rise 68% to £8.4m (2015: £5m) as the company began to explore non-insurance products.
Gocompare chairman Sir Peter Wood said: “The Group, under the leadership of [chief executive] Matthew [Crummack] and our executive team, performed well in 2016, with strong growth in revenue and adjusted operating profit.
“I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. We will continue to drive shareholder value by placing our customers front and centre in all that we do, ensuring that Gocompare.com is the go-to place for price and product comparison.”
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