Financial highlights
Adjusted revenue increased by 15% to £204.8m (2011: £178.5m);
Adjusted EBITDA increased by 26% to £66.5m (2011: £52.5m);
o Adjusted EBITDA margins increased by 3% to 32%;
Adjusted gross margin increased to 74.1% (2011: 71.9%);
Excellent cash conversion - 97% of EBITDA converted to cash;
Cash balance of £18.7m (2011: £35.0m) at the year-end reflecting the acquisition of MoneySavingExpert.com; the Group is debt free;
Dividend increased by 27% to 5.74p;
o Final dividend increased 30% to 3.94p per share (2011: 3.03p);
£10.6m (2011: £nil) net credit in statutory profit following agreement of new VAT recovery method with HMRC;
o Credits of £4.5m and £1.9m recognised for 2012 and 2011 respectively, in lower irrecoverable VAT charge.
Operational highlights
Market leading position and share maintained in competitive market place;
Continued structural growth in our online markets and targeted investment in technology and brand building helping to improve conversion rates;
Marketing investment (offline and online) up 4% with adjusted revenue up 15%;
o Digital investments made benefitting the business.
o New TV campaign launched introducing £1,000 household savings message.
Acquisition of MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) for up to £92.5m completed on 21 September 2012;
o Initial payment of £65.5m; deferred consideration up to £27.0m;
o Strong trading since acquisition.
Outlook
Group trading including MoneySavingExpert.com has been solid in the first two months of the year. Revenue was up 11% and EBITDA up more than 30% against the same period last year.
Within MoneySupermarket most areas of the business continue to make good progress, with the exception of our Savings channel which continues to be significantly impacted by the Government's Funding For Lending scheme. MoneySupermarket's EBITDA to date is ahead of last year and in line with management's expectations, with margins continuing to be healthy, albeit reflecting a number of investments we are making in the business. MSE trading has broadly reflected that seen within MoneySupermarket.
Despite the slowdown in Savings, the buoyancy of the Group's other revenue streams mean that our expectations for the Group for the year remain unchanged.
Peter Plumb, MoneySupermarket.com Chief Executive Officer, said:
"The UK has caught the money saving bug. We helped customers save over £1 billion in 2012 as households, faced with the uncertain outlook, sought savings on their bills.
"The 15% rise in revenues, 26% increase in profits and 30% higher dividend to shareholders were only possible because of our continuing investment in the MoneySupermarket brand, in digital marketing and technology, and in making sure customers find us the best shop for comparing prices.
"While the Government's Funding For Lending scheme has affected demand for comparing savings products, we remain in a structurally growing market. We'll continue to succeed by carrying on giving customers and product providers a better and broader service than others. That way we can save more people more money and continue to build our business.
"MoneySavingExpert.com has added to what we offer consumers. Our brands - while continuing to operate independently - give us a greater ability to help more customers and will accelerate progress towards our goal of helping every consumer make the most of their money.
"January and February have been good months for us and we expect another record year.''
