Mony Group LON: MONY reported a stronger first half of 2026, with management highlighting record revenue, growth in adjusted earnings and a series of product launches aimed at turning MoneySuperMarket into what Chief Executive Officer Peter Duffy called an “everyday financial companion.”
On the company’s interim results call, Duffy said MONY helped U.K. households save an estimated GBP 1.5 billion in the first half. Like-for-like revenue rose 6% to GBP 227 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased 3% to GBP 75 million. Duffy said this marked the company’s fifth consecutive interim period of growth. Basic earnings per share and adjusted earnings per share rose 4% and 5%, respectively.
The company also continued to expand its member base. Duffy said SuperSaveClub added 1 million members over the past year, reaching 2.5 million members. MoneySavingExpert has surpassed 3.5 million app downloads, while 9 million people are signed up for its weekly newsletter.
AI and product launches take center stage
Duffy said the first half was characterized not only by financial performance but also by “strategic progress,” with MONY using AI to improve customer experience, speed up product development and run the business more efficiently.
The company has launched investments by MoneySuperMarket, initially as a fund supermarket allowing customers to invest from GBP 1. Duffy also said MONY is launching its own digital broker, beginning with motor insurance under SuperSaveClub Insurance, allowing customers to compare, buy, manage and renew policies within the company’s app. In addition, MONY has opened the wait list for a business banking proposition, its first dedicated small and medium-sized enterprise offering, due to launch in August.
Asked about the broader strategy, Duffy said MONY is working to “fill the gaps in the proposition” for customers. Savings was a first step, investments followed, and insurance brokerage represents another move toward a more complete financial services offering. He said the company’s next focus over the coming six to 12 months will be adding financial and AI intelligence that can prompt customers on how to manage their money.
“There is nothing quite like this in the market where you can save money on insurance, and you can put that saving essentially into a savings account, into a tracking ISA, if that's what you wanted to do,” Duffy said.
Management says PPC inflation has moderated
Analysts pressed management on higher online marketing costs and gross margin pressure, particularly in paid search. Chief Financial Officer Niall McBride said MONY had previously seen paid search cost inflation of more than 20%, driven in part by Google’s introduction of AI Overviews and changes to the presentation of search results.
McBride said those changes pushed organic search results farther down the page and created volatility in search engine optimization rankings. However, he said much of the rollout has now occurred, and the rate of inflation has moderated.
“At the exiting the period, we're running at about 8% at the unit cost level for Google PPC,” McBride said, adding that this was “well down on the 20%” previously seen.
On gross margin, McBride said the trend is affected by business mix as well as paid search costs. He cited B2B deals with Which? and Blue Light Card as examples of arrangements that can add revenue pounds but affect margin percentage.
Energy switching depends on deal flow
In home services, Duffy said revenue rose 30% in the first half. He attributed MONY’s position in energy to editorial reach, deep provider relationships and exclusive deals.
Duffy said the company had shown in the first half that consumers are willing to switch energy providers when attractive deals are available. However, he said the outlook for the second half depends on the relationship between wholesale markets and the U.K. energy price cap.
“We need wholesale markets to be at a point where providers are then able to offer deals that provide value for consumers,” Duffy said. He described deal flow as the “slight unknown” for the second half, while saying MONY remains confident in its ability to reach customers and work with providers.
Insurance remains a key gateway product
In insurance, McBride said motor insurance premium deflation has narrowed. He said MONY saw deflation of 9% in the second half of last year and 5% more recently, indicating that the pace of decline has slowed. He noted that rising prices have historically encouraged customers to shop around, but said the current switching market remains robust.
Analysts questioned why insurance revenue rose 4% while profitability declined, with higher marketing costs weighing on margins. McBride said MONY makes daily trading decisions on where to invest in paid search based on acceptable returns, and that this year the company went harder in core areas such as car and home insurance.
Duffy added that insurance is also important beyond the insurance segment itself because it serves as a gateway into SuperSaveClub. Once customers join the club, management hopes they will purchase additional products from MONY.
SuperSaveClub Insurance is launching initially with three brokers, compared with 120 providers on MONY’s main comparison platform. Duffy said the proposition is different from traditional comparison and will depend on the pricing brokers can offer. He said more providers are expected to join, though the number is not expected to reach the scale of the main comparison platform.
Balance sheet supports returns and selective M&A
Duffy said MONY plans to return more than GBP 90 million to shareholders this year through its GBP 25 million buyback and progressive dividend.
Asked about consolidation and acquisitions, Duffy said the balance sheet is an advantage, but emphasized that MONY is taking a selective approach. He said several initiatives, including savings, investments, business banking and brokerage, could have been pursued through acquisitions, but the company decided it made more sense to build them internally using its platform and AI capabilities.
“We look at a lot, we consider a few, we do very little,” Duffy said, adding that MONY has “a very high hurdle” for acquisitions, particularly given recent share price levels.
Duffy also addressed the role of large language models in financial services, saying MONY’s provider relationships and regulated position create a “deep moat.” He said insurance journeys require the collection of dozens of pieces of personal customer information, and in more complicated cases more than 100. He questioned whether providers would want to integrate directly with LLMs given data and regulatory considerations.
“I think that's why we can then be so front-footed with AI because we're comfortable that the model is secure,” Duffy said.
About Mony Group (LON:MONY)
MONY Group PLC is an established member of the FTSE 250 index. The Group operates a tech-led savings platform and leading UK brands including price comparison sites (MoneySuperMarket), cashback (Quidco) and a consumer finance content led brand (MoneySavingExpert). We cover a broad range of verticals including Insurance, Money, Home Services and Travel amongst others. Our purpose is to help households save money by giving them access to free online tools that enable them to compare and switch products.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
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