Gocompare.com Group PLC (LON:GOCO) saw its shares slip back on Wednesday after the price comparison website group said its outlook for 2018 remains unchanged, skewed towards the second-half, as it reported a strong increase in 2017 profits.
The FTSE SmallCap-listed firm said its adjusted operating profit for 2017 rose by 19.8% to £36mln, as revenue increased by 5.1% to £149.2mln.
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The group – which was reporting its first set of full-year results since being spun-off from insurer esure Group PLC (LON:ESUR) in November 2016 – said its customer interactions in 2017 increased by 0.8% to 32.2mln, while average revenue per interaction rose by 4.9% to £4.67.
The company also announced that it had acquired minority investments in start-up companies Mortgage Gym and Souqalmal in addition to the acquisition of The Global Voucher Group Limited (MyVoucherCodes) in January 2018.
Matthew Crummack, Gocompare's chief executive, said the board was confident the company would meet its expectations for the full year 2018, with performance being skewed towards the second half of the year.
Sir Peter Wood, group chairman, added “Strong financial performance was complemented by careful deployment of capital that saw the Group take minority stakes in two start-up companies, and culminated in the acquisition of another money-saving business, MyVoucherCodes. As we enter 2018, our focus will remain on delivering value for our shareholders."
The company is to pay a final dividend for the year of 0.7p, making a total full-year payout of 1.4p per share.
In late morning trading, Gocompare shares were down 1.2% at 112.6p.