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GOCO Goco Group Plc

131.60
0.00 (0.00%)
28 Mar 2024 - Closed
Delayed by 15 minutes
Share Name Share Symbol Market Type Share ISIN Share Description
Goco Group Plc LSE:GOCO London Ordinary Share GB00BZ02Q916 ORD GBP0.0002
  Price Change % Change Share Price Bid Price Offer Price High Price Low Price Open Price Shares Traded Last Trade
  0.00 0.00% 131.60 131.00 132.00 0.00 00:00:00
Industry Sector Turnover Profit EPS - Basic PE Ratio Market Cap
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Gocompare.com Group plc Gocompare.com Group plc - Interim results 2017 (6659M)

01/08/2017 7:01am

UK Regulatory


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TIDMGOCO

RNS Number : 6659M

Gocompare.com Group plc

01 August 2017

Gocompare.com Group plc - Interim results for the 6 months ended 30 June 2017

1 August 2017

Disciplined delivery of strong financial results while making good progress on a material transformation program.

Financial highlights and KPIs:

 
                             H1-2017   H1-2016     YOY 
--------------------------  --------  --------  --------- 
 Revenue (GBPm)               75.8      72.8      +4.1% 
--------------------------  --------  --------  --------- 
 Adjusted Operating 
  Profit(1) (GBPm)            17.5      14.4      +21.5% 
--------------------------  --------  --------  --------- 
 Profit before income 
  tax (GBPm)                  14.7      14.5      +1.7% 
--------------------------  --------  --------  --------- 
 Marketing Margin 
  (%)                         39.6%     34.5%    +5.1%pts 
--------------------------  --------  --------  --------- 
 Average revenue 
  per interaction(2) 
  (GBP)                      GBP4.43   GBP4.31    +2.8% 
--------------------------  --------  --------  --------- 
 Adjusted basic EPS 
  (pence)                      3.2       2.8      +14.3% 
--------------------------  --------  --------  --------- 
 Basic EPS (pence)             2.8       2.8      +2.6% 
--------------------------  --------  --------  --------- 
 Customer interactions(3) 
  (m)                         17.1      16.9      +1.3% 
--------------------------  --------  --------  --------- 
 Number of partners(4)         312       326      -4.3% 
--------------------------  --------  --------  --------- 
 Savings made by 
  customers(5) (GBPm)          620       490       +27% 
--------------------------  --------  --------  --------- 
 

Business highlights:

   --     Increased agility in the business, accelerated delivery of updates to the site. 
   --     Invested in talent, strengthening key capabilities in Tech, Product and Marketing 
   --     Exclusive partnership agreement signed with Haymarket Media Group. 
   --     First strategic investment, acquiring minority shareholding in Mortgage Gym Limited. 
   --     Leverage(6) of 1.5x - down from 1.7x at 31 December 2016 and 2.8x at the time of demerger. 
   --     Interim dividend declared of 0.7 pence per share. 

Sir Peter Wood, Chairman, said: "The executive team under Matthew's leadership has made great progress in building on GoCompare's strong foundations and its continuing evolution into a leading tech business.

"I am delighted with the increase in adjusted operating profit and strong cash generation. Our maiden interim dividend of 0.7pence per share balances cash returns to shareholders with our ability to fund potential strategic investments.

"GoCompare is well positioned to continue to drive shareholder value by remaining focused on providing an independent, unbiased and fair service that helps customers save time and money"

Matthew Crummack, Chief Executive Officer, said: "We have delivered material improvements to our core business following organisational and operational transformations early in the year and I am particularly pleased with the integration and performance of our existing talent, alongside new talent recruited in Newport.

"As well as progressing the core business we have continued to develop our strategy and our investment in Mortgage Gym is an exciting opportunity to work with an innovative business that is well aligned to our mission of helping people everywhere save time and money."

Outlook

The Board remains confident about meeting its expectations for the full year 2017.

For further information:

 
 Nick Wrighton                    Anders Nilsson 
  Chief Financial Officer,         Head of PR and outreach, 
  GoCompare                        GoCompare 
  t: 01633 655 051                 t: 01633 654 054 
  e: IR@gocompare.com              e: anders.nilsson@gocompare.com 
 
  Chris Barrie / Grant 
  Ringshaw / Jos Bieneman 
  Citigate Dewe Rogerson 
  t: 0207 638 9571 
  e: gocompare@citigatedr.co.uk 
 
  Notes: 
 

1. Adjusted operating profit represents operating profit, adjusted to exclude the costs of the Foundation Award share based payment charges.

2. Average revenue per interaction defined as Revenue for the period divided by Customer interactions.

3. Customer interactions defined as (a) for products where the quote process begins on GoCompare, as each unique instance of activity within any half hour period in which a Customer initiates such a quote process, although they do not necessarily complete a purchase, and (b) for the remainder of the Group's products, each instance in which a Customer clicks through to a Partner website from GoCompare

   4.        Number of core partner brands we have actively worked with in the 12 month period. 

5. Customer savings measured by Car and Home insurance savings calculated by applying the average Consumer Intelligence reported savings per customer across the year.

6. Leverage is calculated as net debt divided by Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as Adjusted operating profit after adding back depreciation and amortisation charges.

Cautionary statements

Certain statements made in this announcement are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Group or industry results to differ materially from any future events, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Persons receiving this announcement should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Unless otherwise required by applicable law, regulation or accounting standard, GoCompare disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Business Review

The 2017 first half performance saw a disciplined delivery of strong financial results, while the company has undergone a material transformation program. Even while the competitive environment continued to be robust, the team generated a 22% increase in adjusted operating profit, with controlled revenue growth of 4% and strong cash generation reducing leverage from 1.7x to 1.5x. While growth was stronger within the strategic initiatives segment (+15% YoY), insurance-related comparison (+3.5% YoY) still drives the majority of our revenues and operating profit, so much of our commercial focus was on this controlled growth.

Outside of day to day trading, the collective focus of the organisation has been to address the underlying capability of growing revenue and improving marketing margin via increases in conversion alongside investment into profitable marketing channels. This was the essence of our H1 transformation project, and we believe we have made good progress.

Saving consumers time and money is a compelling opportunity

During H1 we helped consumers save GBP620m on car and home insurance (up 27% on H1 16) but believe there is a compelling opportunity to help consumers save even more. Earlier this year we introduced "botheration" as a term summarising the significant barriers that face UK consumers as they look to reduce the financial burden of often non-discretionary everyday household and personal finance expenditure. We see that a combination of complexity and apathy leads to infrequent switching at best, and in many cases to no switching at all.

To understand more about the underlying causes and impacts, we commissioned independent research with leading research companies and academics. For example, Populus reaffirmed our own analysis that circa 1 in 5 of UK consumers had never switched any of car insurance, home insurance or energy, and that an opportunity to save over GBP2bn exists for this set of consumers alone.

The bewildering complexity for consumers in the relationship with their providers in many of these categories is a material barrier to switching. Combining this complexity with apathy, which can be further explained by behavioural science, drives further inertia.

We are therefore focusing our people, resources and capital on improvement and innovation that can help address complexity and apathy.

Our transformation work is yielding early results

The focus of our transformation work in H1 was to re-introduce to the company the speed, spirit and agility of a start-up, focusing principally on our product development and software engineering teams.

In practical terms this means that we have already accelerated our software release cycle from one site release per quarter in H1 2016 to many times per week by the end of H1 2017, a process of improvement that we expect to continue. We achieved this through a modest addition of talent to our existing team, alongside a major shift to culture and working practices but without increasing our capital expenditure. Importantly, we expect this improving capability to allow us to make increasingly frequent and meaningful innovations and simplifications to the customer journey, thereby increasing conversion and improving marketing efficiency.

We focused commercial and marketing resources on building a disciplined, data-driven trading environment. We further in-sourced marketing competence away from agency relationships and contractors, only retaining relationships with valuable partners in specialist areas. Both these efforts allowed us to increase customer volumes across H1 from relatively efficient direct to consumer channels. This positively impacts marketing margin, a trend we expect to continue.

New business development complements this activity, with us winning our first new major partnership with Haymarket Publishing Group, who recently announced renewed focus and investment on their automotive assets, Piston Heads, Autocar and What Car. GoCompare has already implemented in-journey insurance information and quotes to Haymarket customers, and we expect this journey to improve across H2.

We were also delighted to announce our first external investment, in line with our strategy of investing into relevant or adjacent entrepreneurial ventures which are trying to solve big consumer problems. We have agreed a minority capital investment into, and commercial partnership with, Mortgage Gym - an exciting fintech start-up which is targeting a major simplification to the UK mortgage sector. They are creating a unique blend of a fast and simplified user experience, a set of tools to empower IFAs and a deep integration with Experian.

We remain confident of meeting our expectations for the full year 2017, and are excited about the changes that we have made and continue to make to our business. We shall maintain strong focus on the development of our people, who remain at the heart of everything we do. We believe that the creation of a strong, diverse culture will ultimately prove to be a competitive advantage and provide a strong base for the future.

Matthew Crummack

Chief Executive Officer

Financial Review

Revenue increased by 4.1% to GBP75.8m and adjusted operating profit increased by 21.5% to GBP17.5m compared to the same period last year.

The Directors have declared an interim dividend of 0.7 pence per share, which represents a pay-out ratio of approximately 22% of profit after tax after adding back the share based payment charge net of tax for the Foundation Awards.

Revenue

 
                 H1 17   H1 16   Movement   Movement 
                  GBPm    GBPm     GBPm         % 
--------------  ------  ------  ---------  --------- 
 Insurance       70.9    68.5      2.4        3.5 
--------------  ------  ------  ---------  --------- 
 Strategic 
  Initiatives     4.9     4.3      0.6        15.0 
--------------  ------  ------  ---------  --------- 
 Total           75.8    72.8      3.0        4.1 
--------------  ------  ------  ---------  --------- 
 

The Insurance segment saw growth in H1 17 with revenue up 3.5% to GBP70.9m. Growth was driven by a combination of higher interactions, higher income per sale and improved conversion.

The Strategic Initiatives segment also saw growth in H1 17 with revenue up 15% to GBP4.9m. Within this segment there was strong growth in Protection but a reduction in revenue generated from Money products.

Marketing costs and marketing margin

 
                    H1 17   H1 16   Movement   Movement 
                     GBPm    GBPm     GBPm         % 
-----------------  ------  ------  ---------  --------- 
 Cost of sales      24.0    22.1      1.9        8.6 
-----------------  ------  ------  ---------  --------- 
 Distribution 
  costs             21.8    25.6     (3.8)      (14.8) 
-----------------  ------  ------  ---------  --------- 
 Total marketing 
  spend             45.8    47.7     (1.9)      (4.0) 
-----------------  ------  ------  ---------  --------- 
 
 
 Marketing 
  margin      39.6%   34.5%   +5.1%pts 
-----------  ------  ------  --------- 
 

Total marketing spend in H1 17 of GBP45.8m is GBP1.9m lower than spend in H1 16. The reduction in marketing spend is largely due to lower distribution costs and in particular lower broadcast spend on TV and other media. Spend on broadcast is typically higher in periods where new TV advertising creatives are launched and this is reflected in the lower H1 17 spend where there has not been a new creative versus H1 16 where there was. Spend on cost of sales is GBP1.9m higher in H1 17 than H1 16 and this reflects an increase in on-line pay per click.

The combination of higher revenue and lower marketing spend has resulted in an improvement in marketing margin (calculated as the difference between revenue and marketing expenditure divided by revenue) from 34.5% in H1 16 to 39.6% in H1 17.

Administrative expenses

Administrative expenses excluding adjusting items, depreciation and amortisation of GBP11.9m are GBP2.0m higher than in H1 16. This increase is mainly attributable to an increase in staff costs which reflects the increased headcount across the Tech, Product and Marketing teams as well as the costs of the strengthened leadership team and Board which have been incurred following the Group's demerger from esure Group plc in November 2016.

Adjusted operating profit, Adjusted EBITDA, and Profit before tax

 
                                  H1 17    H1 16    Movement   Movement 
------------------------------- 
                                   GBPm     GBPm      GBPm        % 
-------------------------------  -------  -------  ---------  --------- 
 Revenue                           75.8     72.8      3.0        4.1 
-------------------------------  -------  -------  ---------  --------- 
 Total marketing spend            (45.8)   (47.7)     1.9       (4.0) 
-------------------------------  -------  -------  ---------  --------- 
 Administrative expenses 
  excluding adjusting 
  items, depreciation 
  and amortisation                (11.9)   (9.9)     (2.0)       20.2 
-------------------------------  -------  -------  ---------  --------- 
 Adjusted EBITDA                   18.1     15.2      2.9        19.1 
-------------------------------  -------  -------  ---------  --------- 
 Depreciation and amortisation    (0.6)    (0.8)      0.2       (25.0) 
-------------------------------  -------  -------  ---------  --------- 
 Adjusted operating 
  profit                           17.5     14.4      3.1        21.5 
-------------------------------  -------  -------  ---------  --------- 
 Foundation Award share 
  based payment charge            (1.7)      -       (1.7)      100.0 
-------------------------------  -------  -------  ---------  --------- 
 Operating profit                  15.8     14.4      1.4        9.7 
-------------------------------  -------  -------  ---------  --------- 
 Net finance costs                (1.1)     0.1      (1.2) 
-------------------------------  -------  -------  ---------  --------- 
 Profit before tax                 14.7     14.5      0.2        1.7 
-------------------------------  -------  -------  ---------  --------- 
 

Adjusted operating profit, calculated as operating profit for the period after adding back the GBP1.7m share based payment charge in relation to the Foundation Awards, increased by 21.5% to GBP17.5m.

Adjusted EBITDA for the period, calculated as Adjusted operating profit for the period after adding back depreciation and amortisation, increased by 19.1% to GBP18.1m.

The Group has a light infrastructure and continues to have relatively low capital expenditure. The charge for depreciation and amortisation for H1 17 of GBP0.6m is broadly similar to H1 16.

The Group incurred net finance costs of GBP1.1m during H1 17 compared to GBP0.1m of net finance income in H1 16. The Group drew down GBP75m of debt on 1 November 2016 and has incurred interest charges since this date. The Group had no borrowings in 2016 prior to 1 November but generated finance income on its cash balances.

Profit before tax for H1 17 of GBP14.7m is GBP0.2m higher compared to the same period last year. This reflects the improvement in Adjusted operating profit being largely offset by the increase in net finance costs and the share based payment charge relating to the Foundation Awards.

Income tax expense

The Group's tax charge of GBP2.8m is based on an expected effective income tax rate for the year to December 2017 of 19.25% (H1 16: 20.0%).

Earnings per share

 
                               H1 17          H1 16         Movement 
                               (pence         (pence         (pence 
                              per share)     per share)     per share) 
-------------------------  -------------  -------------  ------------- 
 Basic earnings per 
  share                         2.8            2.8            0.0 
-------------------------  -------------  -------------  ------------- 
 Adjusted basic earnings 
  per share                      3.2           2.8            0.4 
-------------------------  -------------  -------------  ------------- 
 

Basic earnings per share for H1 17 is 2.8pence which is in line with the 2.8pence delivered in H1 16. Adjusted earnings per share, which excludes the impact of the adjusting items noted above (net of tax), is 3.2p, an increase of 0.4pence (14%) on H1 16 and better reflects the earnings generated by the underlying core business.

Cash and leverage

The Group delivered a positive operating cash flow during H1 17 of GBP7.7m. This was negatively impacted by a timing difference, with GBP5.1m of fees relating to the demerger in 2016 being paid in January 2017. The underlying operating cash flow in H1 17 was GBP12.8m. Net cash used in investing activities of GBP1.8m includes the GBP1.0m that was paid for the investment in Mortgage Gym Limited.

The total increase in cash and cash equivalents during the period was GBP4.8m and the total cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period was GBP23.2m. After allowing for working capital requirements and the cost of the interim dividend, surplus cash at the end of the period is approximately GBP16m.

 
                                          H1 17   H1 16 
                                           GBPm    GBPm 
---------------------------------------  ------  ------- 
 Net cash generated from operating 
  activities                               7.7     16.8 
---------------------------------------  ------  ------- 
 Net cash used in investing activities    (1.8)   (0.7) 
---------------------------------------  ------  ------- 
 
 Proceeds from issuance of ordinary         -       - 
  shares 
---------------------------------------  ------  ------- 
 Interest paid                            (1.1)     - 
---------------------------------------  ------  ------- 
 Dividends paid to owners of 
  the parent                                -     (12.5) 
---------------------------------------  ------  ------- 
 Net cash used in financing activities    (1.1)   (12.5) 
---------------------------------------  ------  ------- 
 
 Net increase in cash and cash 
  equivalents                              4.8     3.6 
---------------------------------------  ------  ------- 
 Cash and cash equivalents at 
  beginning of year                       18.4     4.3 
---------------------------------------  ------  ------- 
 Cash and cash equivalents at 
  end of period                           23.2     7.9 
---------------------------------------  ------  ------- 
 

Borrowings at the 30 June 2017 were GBP73.2m, which after allowing for cash and cash equivalents of GBP23.2m results in net debt of GBP50.0m. The net debt is GBP4.7m lower than at 31 December 2016. Adjusted EBITDA for the 12 months to 30 June 2017 of GBP34.5m is GBP2.9m higher than in the 12 months to 31 December 2016. The combination of the reduction in net debt and the increase in Adjusted EBITDA results in the leverage falling to 1.5x compared to 1.7x at 31 December. The leverage is significantly lower than the 2.8x at the time of the demerger and well within the banking covenants.

The Board does not target a specific leverage ratio but instead looks to optimise the capital structure of the Group ensuring that cash is available for investment in opportunities that will drive shareholder value over the medium term as well as for paying dividends in line with the dividend policy.

 
                              H1 17    FY 16 
                               GBPm     GBPm 
---------------------------  -------  ------- 
 Borrowings                   (73.2)   (73.1) 
---------------------------  -------  ------- 
 Cash and cash equivalents     23.2     18.4 
---------------------------  -------  ------- 
 Net debt                     (50.0)   (54.7) 
---------------------------  -------  ------- 
 Adjusted EBITDA (rolling 
  12 months)                   34.5     31.6 
---------------------------  -------  ------- 
 Leverage                      1.5      1.7 
---------------------------  -------  ------- 
 

Dividends

The Board has declared an interim dividend of 0.7 pence per share. The dividend is equivalent to a pay-out ratio of approximately 22% of profit after tax after adding back the share based payment charge net of tax for the Foundation Awards, which is at the lower end of the Group's target pay-out ratio of 20%-40%. The pay-out ratio balances cash returns to shareholders with our ability to fund potential strategic investments.

The ex-dividend date is 14 September 2017, with a record date of 15 September 2017 and a payment date of 6 October 2017.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The principal risks and uncertainties faced by the Group are unchanged from those disclosed in the 2016 Annual Report (pages 20 to 22) which is available to view at www.gocomparegroup.com. These cover certain key areas of risk which have been summarised below.

 
 Risk              Nature of risk                   Mitigation and management 
  area 
----------------  -------------------------------  --------------------------------------------------------------- 
 Competitive       The Group operates in 
  environment       a highly competitive                *    Experienced and capable customer acquisition team. 
                    market and changes from 
                    new or existing competitors 
                    may have a significant              *    Comprehensive mix of marketing activities to drive 
                    impact on market share,                  efficient and cost-effective customer acquisition. 
                    revenue and profit. 
 
                                                        *    Continual investment developing other verticals to 
                                                             diversify revenue streams. 
----------------  -------------------------------  --------------------------------------------------------------- 
 Brand             The Group is reliant 
  performance       on customer awareness               *    Ongoing review of the advertising approach, including 
                    and appreciation of                      performance and customer perception. 
                    the GoCompare brand, 
                    deterioration of which 
                    may lead to lower market            *    Branding relaunch in July 2017 across all media 
                    share, revenue and profit.               channels with refreshed content. 
----------------  -------------------------------  --------------------------------------------------------------- 
 Technology        The Group is reliant 
  and cyber         on high-performing comparison       *    Continual investment in and response to developments 
                    solutions delivered                      in cyber risk management including cyber threat 
                    through online interaction               monitoring systems. 
                    with its customers. 
                    Inability to develop 
                    or adapt to technological           *    Regular review and testing of business and service 
                    changes could impact                     continuity capabilities. 
                    the number of customers 
                    using the Group's services. 
                    Inability to protect 
                    against cyber related 
                    incidents could impact 
                    the availability of 
                    this online service 
                    and potential loss of 
                    data. 
----------------  -------------------------------  --------------------------------------------------------------- 
 Legal             The Group operates in 
  and regulatory    a number of regulated               *    Ongoing dialogue and contact with regulatory bodies. 
                    markets and is also 
                    subject to competition 
                    and data protection                 *    Established in-house Legal and Compliance resource 
                    laws. Failure to comply                  with access to specialist advice, as required. 
                    with existing or adapt 
                    to changes in regulatory 
                    requirements may have 
                    a fundamental impact 
                    on the Group's business 
                    model and financial 
                    performance. 
----------------  -------------------------------  --------------------------------------------------------------- 
 Financial         The Group is exposed 
                    to a number of financial            *    Regular monitoring and management of debtors to 
                    risks; principally credit                ensure prompt payment. 
                    risk, liquidity risk 
                    and interest rate risk. 
                    Failure to manage financial         *    Cash flow forecasting and headroom monitoring to 
                    risks appropriately                      manage availability of cash, debt repayment and 
                    could lead to an adverse                 covenant compliance. 
                    impact on the Group's 
                    financial performance, 
                    availability of cash 
                    or breach of banking 
                    covenants. 
----------------  -------------------------------  --------------------------------------------------------------- 
 Economic          The Group's revenue 
  conditions        is derived from provision           *    Ongoing review of wider market conditions and 
                    of product and price                     indicators. 
                    comparison services 
                    in the UK. A contraction 
                    in the economy, changes             *    Flexible approach to cost base. 
                    to fiscal policy or 
                    developments in the 
                    process for the UK to               *    Diversification of revenue streams to adapt to future 
                    leave the EU, may lead                   changes and development of scalable solutions in 
                    to worsening economic                    emerging markets. 
                    conditions and performance 
                    of the Group. In a time 
                    of economic uncertainty 
                    and rising costs, consumers 
                    are more likely to consider 
                    switching through a 
                    price comparison website 
                    to achieve better deals. 
----------------  -------------------------------  --------------------------------------------------------------- 
 

The Board ensures that measures are in place to provide independent and objective identification and management of risks through the Audit and Risk Committee. The Committee is responsible for reviewing the effectiveness of internal control and assurance through the reports from internal audit, compliance and risk functions.

Statement of Directors' Responsibilities

The Directors' confirm that these condensed interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34, 'Interim Financial Reporting', as adopted by the European Union and that the interim management report includes a fair review of the information required by DTR 4.2.7 and DTR 4.2.8, namely:

-- An indication of the important events that have occurred during the first six months and their impact on the condensed set of financial statements, and a description of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the financial year; and

-- Material related party transactions in the first six months and any material changes in the related party transactions described in the last annual report.

The Directors of Gocompare.com Group plc are listed in the Gocompare.com Group plc Annual Report for 31 December 2016. There have been no changes since the publication of that Annual Report to the date of this interim report.

   Matthew Crummack,                                     Nick Wrighton, 
   Chief Executive Officer                                 Chief Financial Officer 

INDEPENT REVIEW REPORT TO GOCOMPARE.COM GROUP PLC

Conclusion

We have been engaged by the company to review the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 30 June 2017 which comprises Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income, Consolidated Statement of Financial Position, Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity, Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows and the related explanatory notes.

Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 30 June 2017 is not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting as adopted by the EU and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules ("the DTR") of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority ("the UK FCA").

Scope of review

We conducted our review in accordance with International Standard on Review Engagements (UK and Ireland) 2410 Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity issued by the Auditing Practices Board for use in the UK. A review of interim financial information consists of making enquiries, primarily of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters, and applying analytical and other review procedures. We read the other information contained in the half-yearly financial report and consider whether it contains any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the information in the condensed set of financial statements.

A review is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) and consequently does not enable us to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters that might be identified in an audit. Accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion.

Directors' responsibilities

The half-yearly financial report is the responsibility of, and has been approved by, the directors. The directors are responsible for preparing the half-yearly financial report in accordance with the DTR of the UK FCA.

As disclosed in note 1, the annual financial statements of the company are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the EU. The directors are responsible for preparing the condensed set of financial statements included in the half-yearly financial report in accordance with IAS 34 as adopted by the EU.

Our responsibility

Our responsibility is to express to the company a conclusion on the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report based on our review.

The purpose of our review work and to whom we owe our responsibilities

This report is made solely to the company in accordance with the terms of our engagement to assist the company in meeting the requirements of the DTR of the UK FCA. Our review has been undertaken so that we might state to the company those matters we are required to state to it in this report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company for our review work, for this report, or for the conclusions we have reached.

Timothy Butchart

for and on behalf of KPMG LLP

Chartered Accountants

15 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5GL

31 July 2017

Condensed consolidated interim financial statements

Gocompare.com Group plc

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

For the period ended 30 June 2017

 
                                            6 months   6 months 
                                                  to         to 
                                             30 June    30 June 
                                                2017       2016 
                                                GBPm       GBPm 
                                     Note 
 
 
 Revenue                                4       75.8       72.8 
 Cost of 
  sales                                       (24.0)     (22.1) 
 Gross profit                                   51.8       50.7 
 
 Distribution 
 costs                                        (21.8)     (25.6) 
 Administrative 
  expenses                                    (14.2)     (10.7) 
                                           ---------  --------- 
 
 Operating 
  profit                                        15.8       14.4 
 
 Analysed 
  as: 
 Adjusted operating 
  profit                                5       17.5       14.4 
 Foundation Award share-based 
  payment charges                              (1.7)          - 
 Operating 
  profit                                        15.8       14.4 
-------------------------------     -----  ---------  --------- 
 
 Finance 
  income                                         0.0        0.1 
 Finance 
  costs                                        (1.1)          - 
                                           ---------  --------- 
                                               (1.1)        0.1 
 
 Profit before 
  income tax                                    14.7       14.5 
 
 Income tax expense                     6      (2.8)      (2.9) 
 
 Profit for the 
  period                                        11.9       11.6 
                                           ---------  --------- 
 
 
 Other comprehensive 
  income                                           -          - 
 
 Total comprehensive income 
  for the period                                11.9       11.6 
                                           ---------  --------- 
 
 
 Earnings per 
  share (pence)                         7 
 Basic earnings 
  per share                                      2.8        2.8 
 Diluted earnings 
  per share                                      2.7        2.8 
 

Notes 1 to 14 are an integral part of these condensed consolidated interim financial statements

Gocompare.com Group plc

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

As at 30 June 2017

 
                                    30 June   31 December   30 June 
                                       2017          2016      2016 
                                       GBPm          GBPm      GBPm 
 
 Non-current 
  assets 
 Goodwill                               2.5           2.5       2.5 
 Intangible 
  assets                                0.5           0.5       0.9 
 Tangible 
  assets                                1.6           1.3       1.3 
 Investment                             1.0             -         - 
 Deferred tax 
  asset                                 1.0           0.3       0.1 
                                   --------  ------------  -------- 
                                        6.6           4.6       4.8 
 Current 
  assets 
 Trade and other 
  receivables                          23.7          16.7      19.3 
 Cash and cash 
  equivalents                          23.2          18.4       7.9 
                                   --------  ------------  -------- 
                                       46.9          35.1      27.2 
 
 Total assets                          53.5          39.7      32.0 
                                   --------  ------------  -------- 
 
 Non-current 
  liabilities 
 Borrowings                            63.6          63.4         - 
 Provisions for liabilities 
  and charges                           1.0           1.0       0.9 
                                   --------  ------------ 
                                       64.6          64.4       0.9 
 Current liabilities 
 Trade and other 
  payables                             20.4          21.3      17.9 
 Current income tax 
  liabilities                           3.2           2.9       2.9 
 Borrowings                             9.6           9.7         - 
                                   --------  ------------ 
                                       33.2          33.9      20.8 
 
 Total liabilities                     97.8          98.3      21.7 
                                   --------  ------------  -------- 
 
 Equity attributable to 
  owners of the parent 
 Ordinary 
  shares                                0.1           0.1       0.0 
 Share premium                          2.7           2.7       2.7 
 Retained earnings                   (47.1)        (61.4)       7.6 
                                             ------------ 
 Total equity                        (44.3)        (58.6)      10.3 
                                   --------  ------------  -------- 
 
 Total equity and 
  liabilities                          53.5          39.7      32.0 
                                   --------  ------------  -------- 
 

Notes 1 to 14 are an integral part of these condensed consolidated interim financial statements

Gocompare.com Group plc

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

For the period ended 30 June 2017

 
                                     Share     Share    Profit    Total 
                                                           and 
                                   capital   premium      loss   equity 
                                                       account 
                                      GBPm      GBPm      GBPm     GBPm 
 
 At 1 January 
  2016                                 0.0       2.7       8.5     11.2 
 
 Profit for 
  the period                             -         -      11.6     11.6 
 Other comprehensive 
  income for the period                  -         -         -        - 
                                  --------            --------  ------- 
 Total comprehensive income 
  for the period                         -         -      11.6     11.6 
 
 Transactions with 
  owners 
 Dividends paid                          -         -    (12.5)   (12.5) 
 Total transactions with 
  owners                                 -         -    (12.5)   (12.5) 
                                  --------  --------  --------  ------- 
 
 At 30 June 
  2016                                 0.0       2.7       7.6     10.3 
                                  --------  --------  --------  ------- 
 
 
 At 1 July 2016                        0.0       2.7       7.6     10.3 
 
 Profit for 
  the period                             -         -       4.2      4.2 
 Other comprehensive 
  income for the period                  -         -         -        - 
                                  --------            --------  ------- 
 Total comprehensive income 
  for the period                         -         -       4.2      4.2 
 
 Transactions with 
  owners 
 Dividends paid                          -         -    (73.3)   (73.3) 
 Share based payments                    -         -       0.1      0.1 
 Proceeds from shares 
  issued                               0.1         -         -      0.1 
                                  --------            -------- 
 Total transactions with 
  owners                               0.1         -    (73.2)   (73.1) 
                                  --------  --------  --------  ------- 
 
 At 31 December 
  2016                                 0.1       2.7    (61.4)   (58.6) 
                                  --------  --------  --------  ------- 
 
 
 At 1 January 
  2017                                 0.1       2.7    (61.4)   (58.6) 
 
 Profit for 
  the period                             -         -      11.9     11.9 
 Other comprehensive 
  income for the period                  -         -         -        - 
                                  --------            --------  ------- 
 Total comprehensive income 
  for the period                         -         -      11.9     11.9 
 
 Transactions with 
  owners 
 Dividends paid                          -         -         -        - 
 Share based payments                    -         -       2.0      2.0 
 Tax on share based 
  payments                               -         -       0.4      0.4 
 Proceeds from shares 
  issued                               0.0         -     (0.0)        - 
                                  --------            -------- 
 Total transactions with 
  owners                               0.0         -       2.4      2.4 
                                  --------  --------  --------  ------- 
 
 At 30 June 
  2017                                 0.1       2.7    (47.1)   (44.3) 
                                  --------  --------  --------  ------- 
 

Notes 1 to 14 are an integral part of these condensed consolidated interim financial statements

Gocompare.com Group plc

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

For the period ended 30 June 2017

 
                                        6 months   6 months 
                                              to         to 
                                         30 June    30 June 
                                            2017       2016 
                                            GBPm       GBPm 
 
 Cash flows from operating 
  activities 
 Profit for the 
  period before 
  tax                                       14.7       14.5 
 Adjustments 
 for: 
 Depreciation of property, 
  plant and equipment                        0.2        0.2 
 Amortisation of intangible 
  assets                                     0.3        0.6 
 Impairment of 
  tangible assets                            0.1          - 
 Share based payment 
  charge                                     2.0          - 
 Net finance 
 costs                                       1.1      (0.1) 
 
 Changes in working 
  capital: 
 Increase in trade 
  and other receivables                    (6.9)      (3.6) 
 (Decrease) / increase in 
  trade and other payables                 (0.9)        7.0 
 
 Income tax 
  paid                                     (2.9)      (1.8) 
                                       --------- 
 Net cash generated from 
  operating activities                       7.7       16.8 
 
 Cash flows from investing 
  activities 
 Purchase of property, plant 
  and equipment                            (0.6)      (0.1) 
 Purchase of intangible 
  assets                                   (0.2)      (0.7) 
 Interest 
  received                                   0.0        0.1 
 Purchase of equity 
  investment                               (1.0)          - 
                                       --------- 
 Net cash used in investing 
  activities                               (1.8)      (0.7) 
 
 Cash flows from financing 
  activities 
 Proceeds from issuance 
  of ordinary shares                           -          - 
 Interest 
  paid                                     (1.1)          - 
 Dividends paid to 
  owners of the parent                         -     (12.5) 
                                       --------- 
 Net cash used in financing 
  activities                               (1.1)     (12.5) 
 
 Net increase in cash and cash 
  equivalents                                4.8        3.6 
 Cash and cash equivalents 
  at beginning of period                    18.4        4.3 
                                       --------- 
 Cash and cash equivalents 
  at end of period                          23.2        7.9 
 

Notes 1 to 14 are an integral part of these condensed consolidated interim financial statements

Gocompare.com Group plc

Notes to the financial statements

For the period ended 30 June 2017

   1.   General information 

Gocompare.com Group plc ("the Company") and its subsidiaries (together, "the Group") provide an internet based price comparison website for financial and non-financial products.

The company is a public limited company, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is incorporated in England and Wales. Its registered office is Imperial House, Imperial Way, Newport, NP10 8UH.

All of the Company's subsidiaries are located in the United Kingdom.

These condensed interim financial statements do not comprise statutory accounts within the meaning of section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016 were approved by the Board of Directors on 1 March 2017 and delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The report of the auditors on those accounts was unqualified, did not contain an emphasis of matter paragraph and did not contain any statement under section 498 (2) and (3) of the Companies Act 2006. These condensed interim financial statements have been reviewed, not audited.

   2.   Summary of significant accounting policies 

These condensed interim financial statements for the six months ended 30 June 2017 have been prepared in accordance with the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority and with IAS34, 'Interim financial reporting', as adopted by the European Union. The condensed interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the annual financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2016, which have been prepared in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union.

The accounting policies adopted are consistent with those applied to the consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2016. In addition to those accounting policies, a policy for investments in equity instruments is provided as this is a new accounting item for the current financial period.

The financial statements have been presented in Sterling and rounded to the nearest hundred thousand. Throughout these financial statements any amounts which are less than GBP0.05m are shown by 0.0, whereas a dash (-) represents that no balance exists.

New accounting standards and interpretations

A number of new standards, amendments to standards and interpretations will be applicable to the consolidated financial statements in future years. The adoption of these standards are not expected to have a material impact on the Group financial results or disclosures.

Financial assets - investments in equity instruments

Investments in equity instruments are classified as available for sale financial assets and are initially recognised at fair value with transaction costs expensed as incurred. Investments are subsequently recognised at fair value with changes in the value of the investment recognised in Other Comprehensive Income.

Dividend income is recognised in profit and loss when the dividend is received.

Going concern

The Group meets its day to day working capital requirements through it bank facilities and cash balances held. In considering the appropriateness of the going concern assumption, the Directors' have taken into account the Group's forecasts, projections and reasonably possible changes in trading performance and cash flows. After making enquiries, the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for at least twelve months from the date of approval of the financial statements. Having reassessed the principal risks, the directors considered it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing its condensed interim financial statements.

Gocompare.com Group plc

Notes to the financial statements

For the period ended 30 June 2017

2. Summary of significant accounting policies (continued)

Use of non-GAAP performance measures

In the analysis of the Group's results, certain financial performance measures are presented which may be prepared on a non-GAAP basis. The Board believes that these measures provide a useful analysis, allow comparability of performance and present results in a way that is consistent with how information is reported internally.

The key non-GAAP measures presented by the Group are:

- Adjusted Operating profit: defined as Operating profit after adding back adjusting items

- Adjusted EBITDA: defined as Adjusted Operating profit after adding back depreciation and amortisation

- Adjusted basic EPS: defined as Profit for the period, excluding exceptional items (adjusted for tax) divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue for the period.

Adjusted EBITDA is a measure which is used in calculating one of the Group's financial covenants on its borrowings as well as a factor in determining the coupon rate. Adjusted Operating profit is one of the factors used in assessing performance to determine remuneration for the Executive Directors and Senior Management.

   3.   Critical accounting judgements and estimates 

The preparation of interim financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expense. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

In preparing these condensed interim financial statements, the significant judgements made by management in applying the Group's accounting policies and the key sources of estimation uncertainty are consistent with those that applied to the consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2016.

   4.   Segment information 

Information reported to the Board (the Chief Operating Decision Maker) for the purposes of the assessment of segment performance is focused on the types of products customers have purchased. The Chief Operating Decision Maker, does not review profit and loss items below cost of sales nor the assets and liabilities of the Group by reportable segments and therefore they are reported on an aggregated basis for the Group.

The Group's reportable segments under IFRS 8 are as follows:

-- Insurance Customers and activities ("Insurance"); and

-- Strategic Initiative Customers and activities ("Strategic Initiatives").

The identification and disclosure of the Group's segments is unchanged from that detailed in the consolidated financial statements of the Group for the year ended 31 December 2016.

Gocompare.com Group plc

Notes to the financial statements

For the period ended 30 June 2017

   4.   Segment information (continued) 

Period ended 30 June 2017

 
                      Insurance     Strategic    Total 
                                  initiatives 
                           GBPm          GBPm     GBPm 
 Revenue                   70.9           4.9     75.8 
 Cost of 
  sales                  (21.2)         (2.8)   (24.0) 
                     ----------  ------------  ------- 
 Gross profit              49.7           2.1     51.8 
 
 
 Period ended 
  30 June 2016 
                      Insurance     Strategic    Total 
                                  initiatives 
                           GBPm          GBPm     GBPm 
 Revenue                   68.5           4.3     72.8 
 Cost of 
  sales                  (18.8)         (3.3)   (22.1) 
                     ----------  ------------  ------- 
 Gross profit              49.7           1.0     50.7 
 
   5.   Adjusted operating profit 

The following transactions occurred during the year which have been added back to operating profit in arriving at adjusted operating profit:

 
                                            6 months     6 months 
                                                  to           to 
                                             30 June      30 June 
                                                2017         2016 
                                                GBPm         GBPm 
 
 Foundation Award share-based                    1.7            - 
 payment charge 
                                           ---------    --------- 
                                                 1.7            - 
 

In November 2016, the Group issued a number of Foundation Awards in the form of free shares to the Executive Directors and Senior Management. These were awarded as a result of the Group's successful listing and will vest after 2 years subject to the achievement of certain stretching performance criteria.

The Awards have been treated as an adjusting item by the Group in arriving at adjusted operating profit, by virtue of their association with the listing, the quantum of shares and individual size of the Awards made in addition to the fact that they vest over a shorter 2 year period. Furthermore, the Foundation Awards are non-recurring (although accounting charges will follow until they vest) and the Directors do not, therefore, consider these Awards to be part of the ongoing trading performance of the business.

   6.   Taxation 

Income tax expense is recognised based on management's estimate of the weighted average annual income tax rate expected for the full financial year. The estimated average annual tax rate used for the year to 31 December 2017 is 19.25%. The estimated tax rate used for the six months ended 30 June 2016 was 20.0%.

Gocompare.com Group plc

Notes to the financial statements

For the period ended 30 June 2017

   7.   Earnings per share 
   a)   Basic 

Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profit attributable to equity holders of the company by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the period.

 
                                              6 months   6 months 
                                                    to         to 
                                               30 June    30 June 
                                                  2017       2016 
 
 Profit from continuing operations 
  attributable to owners of the 
  parent (GBPm)                                   11.9       11.6 
                                             ---------  --------- 
 
 Weighted average number of ordinary 
  shares in issue (m)                            418.3      418.3 
 
 Earnings per share 
 (pence per share)                                 2.8        2.8 
 
   b)   Diluted 

Diluted earnings per share is calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding to assume conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares.

 
                                              6 months   6 months 
                                                    to         to 
                                               30 June    30 June 
                                                  2017       2016 
 
 Profit from continuing operations 
  attributable to owners of the 
  parent (GBPm)                                   11.9       11.6 
                                             ---------  --------- 
 
 Weighted average number of ordinary 
  shares in issue (m)                            418.3      418.3 
 Adjustment for share                             15.2          - 
 options (m) 
 Weighted average number of ordinary 
  shares for dilutive earnings per 
  share (m)                                      433.5      418.3 
 
 Dilutive earnings per share 
  (pence per share)                                2.7        2.8 
 
   c)   Adjusted basic 
 
                                                6 months     6 months 
                                                      to           to 
                                                 30 June      30 June 
                                                    2017         2016 
 
 Profit from continuing operations 
  attributable to owners of the parent 
  (GBPm)                                            11.9       11.6 
                                               ---------  --------- 
 Adjustment for Foundation Awards                    1.3            - 
  charge, net of tax (GBPm) 
 Adjusted profit from continuing 
  operations attributable to owners 
  of the parent (GBPm)                              13.2       11.6 
 Weighted average number of ordinary 
  shares in issue (m)                              418.3        418.3 
 
 Adjusted earnings per share 
 (pence per share)                                   3.2          2.8 
 

Gocompare.com Group plc

Notes to the financial statements

For the period ended 30 June 2017

   8.   Financial instruments 

The following table sets out the financial assets and financial liabilities of the Group at the period end. The carrying amounts of the Group's financial instruments are considered to be a reasonable approximation of their fair value and therefore no separate disclosure of fair values is given.

 
                                6 months   6 months 
                                      to         to 
                                 30 June    30 June 
                                    2017       2016 
 Financial                          GBPm       GBPm 
  assets 
 Investments in equity 
  instruments                        1.0          - 
 Trade and other 
  receivables                       17.9       16.1 
 Cash and cash 
  equivalents                       23.2        7.9 
                                    42.1       24.0 
 Financial 
 liabilities: 
 Trade and other 
  payables                        (16.8)     (14.1) 
 Borrowings                       (73.2)          - 
                                  (90.0)     (14.1) 
 
   9.   Financial risk management 

The Group's activities expose it to a variety of financial risks: credit risk, liquidity risk, interest rate risk.

The condensed interim financial statements do not include all financial risk management information and disclosures required in the annual financial statements; they should be read in conjunction with the Group's annual financial statements as at 31 December 2016.

10. Investments in equity instruments

On 30 June 2017 the Group acquired a minority shareholding in Mortgage Gym Limited for consideration of GBP1.0m.

 
                                    6 months     6 months 
                                          to           to 
                                     30 June      30 June 
                                        2017         2016 
                                        GBPm         GBPm 
 
 Investment in equity 
 instrument                              1.0            - 
                                   ---------    --------- 
 

The investment is classified as an available for sale financial asset, is held at fair value and is unquoted. Its fair value is classified as level 3 within the IFRS7 fair value hierarchy, as the inputs for its fair value are not based on observable market data. At period end, fair value has been determined based on the consideration paid, as the completion date is the same as the reporting date and this is deemed to represent fair value of the investment.

Gocompare.com Group plc

Notes to the financial statements

For the period ended 30 June 2017

11. Share based payments

The Group has a number of equity-settled, share-based compensation plans. Following admission of the Group to the London Stock Exchange, arrangements have been put in place for employee incentives in Gocompare.com Group plc shares. These include the Executive Foundation Awards and the 2017 Performance Share Plan ('PSP'), as well as the Free Share Awards, Partnership and Matching shares issued under the all-employee Share Incentive Plan ("SIP").

The share-based payment charge recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive Income is attributed to each of the schemes as shown:

 
                                6 months     6 months 
                                      to      to 
                                 30 June      30 June 
                                    2017         2016 
                                    GBPm         GBPm 
 Foundation 
  Awards                             1.7            - 
 2017 PSP                            0.3            - 
 Free Share 
  Awards                             0.0            - 
 Partnership 
  Shares                             0.0            - 
 Save As You Earn 
  Shares                             0.0            - 
                               ---------    --------- 
                                     2.0            - 
 

The following table shows the number of share options awarded, exercised and outstanding at the period end. There were no share options outstanding at 30 June 2016 as the schemes have only been active since November 2016 following the Group's admission to the London Stock Exchange.

 
 
                                Foundation    2017      Free      Total 
                                  Awards       PSP      Share     Awards 
                                              Awards    Awards 
                                             000s of shares 
                               ----------------------------------------- 
 At 30 June 
 2016                                    -         -         -         - 
 
 Awards granted 
  during the period                 13,600         -       343    13,943 
 Awards exercised during 
  the period                             -         -         -         - 
 Awards forfeited 
  during the period                      -         -         -         - 
 
 At 31 December 
  2016                              13,600         -       343    13,943 
 
 Awards granted 
  during the period                      -     3,502         -     3,502 
 Awards exercised during 
  the period                             -         -         -         - 
 Awards forfeited 
  during the period                  (143)      (26)      (24)     (193) 
 
 At 30 June 2017                    13,457     3,476       319    17,252 
 

Gocompare.com Group plc

Notes to the financial statements

For the period ended 30 June 2017

11. Share based payments (continued)

The Group has awarded an equity settled Performance Share Plan (the '2017 PSP') to the Executive Directors and Senior Management. The 2017 PSP Awards were granted on 29 March 2017, save for one award which was granted on 5 April 2017. The awards are subject to an EPS growth performance condition, for which the fair value of the awards was estimated using a Black-Scholes valuation model, and a total shareholder return ('TSR') condition, which has been valued using a Monte-Carlo simulation.

The inputs into the model were:

 
                                   2017-2019 
                                  PSP Awards 
                              -------------- 
 
 Number of options 
  granted                          3,502,446 
 
 Valuation method 
  - TSR                          Monte-Carlo 
 Valuation method 
  - EPS                        Black-Scholes 
 
 Share price at grant 
  - 29 March 2017                    GBP0.92 
 Share price at grant 
  - 5 April 2017                     GBP0.93 
 Exercise                             GBPnil 
  price 
 Volatility 
 % p.a.                                34.0% 
 Dividend yield 
  % p.a.                                 nil 
 Risk-free 
  rate %                               1.10% 
 Expected                               3yrs 
  life 
 
 Fair value per 
  share - TSR                        GBP0.54 
 Fair value per                      GBP0.92 
  share - EPS 
                              -------------- 
 

Details of the other equity-settled, share-based compensation plans are set out in the Gocompare.com Group plc Annual Report 2016.

Scheme limits

The rules of the various Plans described above provide that, in any 10 year rolling period, not more than 10 per cent. of the Company's issued ordinary share capital may be issued under the combined Plans and under any other employee share plan adopted by the Company. In addition, the rules of the Performance Share Plan and the Deferred Bonus Plan provide that, in any 10 year rolling period, not more than 5 per cent. of the Company's issued ordinary share capital may be issued under these two schemes (and any other discretionary employee share plan adopted by the Company).

Gocompare.com Shares transferred out of treasury under the Plans will count towards these limits for so long as this is required under institutional shareholder guidelines. Gocompare.com Shares issued or to be issued pursuant to awards granted before Admission or in relation to the Foundation Awards (described above) will not count towards these limits. In addition, awards which are relinquished or lapse will be disregarded for the purposes of these limits.

Gocompare.com Group plc

Notes to the financial statements

For the period ended 30 June 2017

12. Dividends

 
                   6 months      12 months   6 months 
                         to             to         to 
                    30 June    31 December    30 June 
                       2017           2016       2016 
                       GBPm           GBPm       GBPm 
 
 Dividends 
 paid                      -          85.8       12.5 
                 -----------  ------------  --------- 
 

In November 2016, a dividend of GBP73.3m was paid, equivalent to 17.6 pence per share.

In June 2016, a dividend of GBP12.5m was paid, equivalent to 62.5 pence per share.

The Directors have recommended an interim dividend for 2017 of GBP2.9m, equivalent to 0.7 pence per share.

Dividends per share are disclosed based on the number of shares in issue at the point they were declared and paid. Gocompare.com Group plc issued a number of shares during 2016 which has the effect of showing a relatively lower dividend per share for the November 2016 and 2017 interim dividends.

13. Contingent liabilities

The Group had no contingent liabilities at the period end (30 June 2016: GBPnil).

14. Related parties

Intercompany transactions between entities that are members of the Group at year end and have been eliminated on consolidation are not disclosed, as per the exemption available in IAS24.

Key management includes the executive and non-executive directors of Gocompare.com Group plc.

During the period there were no transactions, and at the period end there were no outstanding balances, relating to key management personnel and entities over which they have control, other than the share option arrangements as set out in Note 11. A number of share options have been granted to key management and other senior management, none of which have yet vested. No dividends were paid by the Company in the period.

During the period, the Group had the following related party transactions with related entities:

The Group paid fees of GBP40,000 (6 months to 30 June 2016: GBPnil) to WOne International Services Limited, a company in which one of the Directors of the Group has a beneficial interest. The arrangement was made under normal commercial terms with consideration settled in cash. The amount outstanding at the period end was GBPnil (30 June 2016: GBPnil).

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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