HomeServe steers steady path with figures unchanged in year
HOMESERVE said yesterday its earnings for the first half of 2014 are likely to remain much the same as last year, with trading weighted towards the second half of the financial year.
In a trading update for the six months ending yesterday, the home emergency business said its outlook for the full year remained unchanged, and earnings for the first half are likely to match the £25.6m total from a year ago. As of the end of August, net debt stood at £47m.
The firm estimates customer numbers are around 2.2m and said it is “confident of achieving our full year targets of 200,000 gross new customers, a retention rate of over 80 per cent and stabilising year end customer numbers at 1.9m.”
“We have increased UK customer acquisition marketing activity and improved our retention rate, as well as continued to grow customer numbers in our international businesses,” the firm stated.
The company has been under investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) over potential mis-selling of policies since October 2011, and that probe is continuing.