Esure Share Discussion Threads

[masurenguy] 05/8/2016 10:41

Profit down 2% and dividend cut by 29%. Flotation or trade sale of Go Compare still under review.

Interim Results

Highlights

-- Gross written premiums up 16.3% to £320.4m (1H 2015: £275.5m)

-- In-force policies up 3.7% to 2.076m in the first half of 2016 (FY 2015: 2.001m, 1H 2015: 1.995m)

-- Combined operating ratio 3.4ppts higher at 99.2% (1H 2015: 95.8%) largely driven by adverse weather events in the first half of 2016

-- Underlying profit before tax(1) down 1.9% to £45.6m (1H 2015: £46.5m) impacted by adverse weather events in the first half of 2016

-- Interim dividend per share of 3.0p (1H 2015: 4.2p), reflecting the Board's decision to retain capital to fund growth

-- Solvency II Group coverage ratio of 126% (FY 2015: 123%), post dividend; and
Solvency II Solo coverage ratio of 136% (FY 2015: 138%)

-- Gocompare(2) revenue up 22.3% to £72.9m; operating profit up 9.0% to £14.5m (1H 2015: Revenue of £59.6m; operating profit of £13.3m)

Sir Peter Wood, Chairman of esure Group plc, said: "The management team is delivering on its strategic objective to grow both our insurance and price comparison businesses. On 7 June, we announced a strategic review of Gocompare.com to ensure we continue to focus on maximising shareholder value and the review is ongoing. We remain well capitalised under Solvency II and I am pleased to declare a dividend of 3.0 pence per share reflecting the Board's decision to retain capital as we look to take advantage of favourable motor market conditions."

Stuart Vann, Chief Executive Officer of esure Group plc, said: "We are reporting strong growth figures, with customer numbers and premiums up across the board. Motor premium growth of 18% is particularly strong, driven by a combination of our underwriting and rating initiatives as we look to capitalise on growth opportunities in a favourable market. It is also pleasing to be reporting an underlying profit before tax of £45.6m, despite the adverse weather events in the first half of the year. In Gocompare.com we have delivered excellent revenue growth of 22% and continue to drive the business forward through improved marketing, a strengthened management team and focus on a wider product offering. We are well placed for further profitable growth across both businesses in the second half of the year."

[masurenguy] 30/6/2016 14:15

Hmmm.......hadn't seen any press speculation on Esure but if true I would agree that £5 would be nice but possibly £3.50 - £4.00 might be nearer the mark !

[saltaire111] 30/6/2016 13:56

£5.00 a share would be nice! Come and get us KKR!

Salty

[speedsgh] 30/6/2016 12:36

Comment on Press Speculation -

Bidders Go Compare Numbers On Esure Takeover -

[masurenguy] 08/6/2016 01:44

Go figure! Esure looks to spin off comparison site

GoCompare, the price comparison website, could be spun off into a separate company by its parent esure, which only took full control of the business a year and a half ago. Esure said it was considering options for GoCompare, including a demerger due to improved profit expectations for the business, after it revamped its marketing strategy and focused on a wider range of comparison products. The insurer bought the 50% in GoCompare that it did not already own in December 2014 for £95m.

Complete article here:

[masurenguy] 07/6/2016 08:02

The appointment of a new and heavyweight CEO, plus the comments in todays RNS, indicates that they are seriously considering a demerger and separate listing for GoCompare. If this transpires there could be a windfall return to shareholders from the capital raised from such a move.

RNS Number : 3719A
esure Group plc
07 June 2016
Given the positive performance and future opportunities of Gocompare.com, the Board has decided that it is the right time to review strategic opportunities for the business. The Board has therefore commenced a strategic review of Gocompare.com, including a potential demerger, and will update shareholders on this review as and when appropriate. Peter Wood, Chairman of esure Group plc, commented: "Now is the right time to review strategic opportunities for the Gocompare.com business, including a potential demerger, in order to continue to maximise value for our shareholders. Shareholders will be updated following this review process."

[masurenguy] 05/5/2016 11:28

esure Group plc 2016 Q1 Interim Management Statement

Stuart Vann, Chief Executive Officer of esure Group plc, commented: "We have made an excellent start to 2016 with gross written premium growth of 15.5% to GBP151.0m and in-force policy growth of 1.7% in the quarter to 2.036m. In Motor, gross written premium growth of 17.1% to GBP128.9m reflects year-on-year policy growth and our positive rating actions. Home gross written premium growth of 7.3% to GBP22.1m is a good performance as our cross-sell and footprint expansion initiatives continue to build momentum in competitive market conditions. Gocompare.com made very good progress in the first quarter with income growth of 19.0% to GBP36.3m. The new advertising campaigns, largely focused on Money products, are delivering in line with our expectations. We continue to invest in Gocompare.com and we expect to increase Gocompare.com's profit before tax by 20-30% in 2016. We are on track to deliver on our guidance for 2016."

[masurenguy] 27/4/2016 10:19

Q1 IMS due next Thursday, 5th May.

[saltaire111] 23/3/2016 09:26

The market's loving esure at the moment. Buyer sniffing about? Who knows.

Salty.

[masurenguy] 23/3/2016 08:17

Confidence returning here despite the reduction in profit and the cut in the dividend 2 weeks ago. The shareprice has risen by 21% over the past few weeks also fuelled by an optimistic outlook statement that should see growth in profit and dividend this year. It could also prompt a predator to appear.

[masurenguy] 08/3/2016 10:55

Well the market reaction suggests that todays results were already incorporated in the price since an early 4% fall was quickly bought up and so far the recent rise in the shareprice has been maintained. Hopefully we will see an increase in both profit and therefore dividend this year. If not, then they could be vulnerable to a predator who would still have to pay a premium. Meanwhile, although disappointing, the new yield of 4.4% is still a reasonable return so I will continue to hold here.

[renew] 08/3/2016 09:58

Im with you doc. Patience has run out!!!

[dr biotech] 08/3/2016 07:33

Total div of 11.5p reduces yield to about 4.5%

I sold out of these at 245 after the last results as I was concerned about the increase in the COR. Obviously not my greatest trade given the current share price but looking at these results my thoughts were perhaps justified.

Good luck to those that have kept the faith.

[masurenguy] 08/3/2016 07:29

So full year profits finished down 22% and the dividend down by 31% against last year and 27% compared to the prior year. Disappointing in my view and we will have to see what the market reaction is today after the recent rally in the shareprice.

RNS Number : 3155R
esure Group plc
08 March 2016

esure Group plc preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2015

Good progress in 2015 and esure Group well placed to deliver on strategic plans in 2016
Highlights
-- Gross written premiums up 6.3% to GBP550.3m (2014: GBP517.8m)
-- In-force policies up 2.8% to 2.001 million (2014: 1.946 million)
-- Combined operating ratio 5.9ppts higher at 97.8% (2014: 91.9%)
-- Profit before tax up 29.7% to GBP134.0m (2014: GBP103.3m)
-- Underlying profit before tax(1) down 22.7% to GBP82.9m (2014: GBP107.2m)

-- Final dividend of 7.3 pence per share, which together with the interim dividend of 4.2 pence per share, takes the full year dividend to 11.5 pence per share. This reflects a payout ratio(2) of 70% of underlying earnings per share, inclusive of a 20% special dividend

-- Gocompare.com(3) income up 5.0% to GBP119.0m (2014: GBP113.3m); profit before tax down 9.0% to GBP23.3m (2014: 25.6m) as the Group invests in its strategic objectives

-- Well capitalised under Solvency II with Group coverage at 123% (137% prior to Group final dividend) and Solo coverage at 138%

Peter Wood, esure Group Chairman, said: "The management team made good progress on our strategic plans in 2015. The Group continued its disciplined approach and is in a strong position to capitalise on growth opportunities. The motor rating environment is now conducive for this and we are also looking at opportunities in Home. Furthermore, I am delighted that we completed the acquisition of the remaining 50% of Gocompare.com and under our strategic direction we are already seeing benefits as we reinvigorate the brand, increase the product range and invest for the future. The Board has declared a full year dividend of 11.5 pence per share which represents 70% of underlying profit after tax, inclusive of 20% special dividend. The Board's current outlook for profitable growth is reflected in its decision to retain capital, in line with the dividend policy, as we look to deliver stakeholder value over the medium to long term."

Stuart Vann, Chief Executive Officer, said: "Our underlying profit before tax of GBP82.9 million is a good achievement in a highly competitive market. During 2015 we grew both our customer base and premiums in Motor in a controlled and measured way through the delivery of our underwriting initiatives. We saw positive movements in the motor rating environment throughout the year and are well positioned to take advantage of this. In Home, market conditions continue to be competitive, but we remained disciplined in our rating decisions and maintained premium and customer numbers during the year. In December, we incurred around GBP4m of claims costs from the exceptional weather events and while our focus was on our customers at this time, through our focused and disciplined approach to underwriting our claims costs were significantly less than our market share. Gocompare.com is making great progress and delivered income growth of 10% in the second half of the year driven by our new advertising campaigns featuring Gio Compario, while continuing to focus on efficiency. We are in a strong position to deliver on our strategic objective of growing our insurance business and to take advantage of the opportunities presented through an improving Motor market. 2016 has got off to a good start and we expect to deliver gross written premium growth of 10-15% and policy growth of 4-6%, assuming stable market conditions. The combined operating ratio in Motor and Home is expected to be in the region of 97-98%. Gocompare.com is already benefitting from our full ownership and we expect the business to achieve an increase in profitability of 20-30% in 2016."

[masurenguy] 04/3/2016 16:07

Yes, as a minimum, although it could still be a couple of pence higher if they had a strong H2.

[speedsgh] 04/3/2016 15:57

Mas - do you mean full year div of 14/15p?

[masurenguy] 04/3/2016 15:52

Upward momentum continues ahead of next Tuesdays results. Shareprice now up by 19% over the past 3 weeks and I'm now back into profit plus 32.6p in dividends over the past 18 months. Looking for a final dividend in the region of 14/15p this year.

[speedsgh] 01/3/2016 16:08

Any read across from Direct Line's results today?

[masurenguy] 01/3/2016 15:09

Shareprice up by 13.5% over the past couple of weeks. Looks like some people may be anticipating some results ahead of expectations next week

[masurenguy] 08/2/2016 09:46

Very quiet here. Results due in 4 weeks time on March 8th. The 11 brokers and analysts covering this company are currently providing 12 month price targets between 296.00 (high) and 210.00 (low), with the median price being 261p. The median sentiment is Hold, advocated by 6 of them with 3 rating them Outperform and 1 rating them a Buy and 1 rating them a Sell.

The interim dividend was up by 16.7% (4.2p v 3.6p) but down by 17% when you factor in the special dividend of 1.5p that was also paid after the interims in the prior year. I'm looking for a final dividend of circa 13p, which if awarded would provide a total dividend of 17.2p for the year or a yield of 7.2%. If results are disappointing, then the lowest we are likely to see the final dividend dropping to in my view is circa 10.5p, which would still constitute 14.7p for the year and a current annual yield of 6.3%.

[onjohn] 28/12/2015 17:27

say that to a lloyds name. it might only be 15% of the business, but the losses could be massive

[masurenguy] 28/12/2015 17:15

Home Insurance only accounts for circa 15% of Esure's business.