Penguin Portals’ comparison profits rise by 52%1
Benefits of scale reflected in £23.9m profit for Penguin Portals’ comparison platforms2 – which includes Confused.com
05/03/20
Press release
• Penguin Portals Ltd, which is made up of comparison platforms in the UK, Spain and France, report £162.8m turnover, up 15%.
• ‘Outstanding’ performance for Confused.com after more than doubling its profit in two years3, accounting for £20.4m of Penguin Portals’ profit.
• Penguin Portals’ CEO, Elena Betes, says results reflect the new corporate structure and synergies achieved across the platforms.
• The network continues on its mission to empower the world to choose better and teases new ‘penguin’ to join its incubator colony later this year.
Penguin Portals’ comparison platforms2, which includes Confused.com, are reporting profit growth of 52% in 20191 in their first year since aligning under the new corporate structure.
The growth to £23.9m (2018: £15.7m) has been put down to the added scale afforded by bringing the businesses closer together under the Penguin Portals network, which formally launched in 2019. Turnover for Penguin Portals Ltd, which is made up of Confused.com in the UK, Rastreator.com in Spain and LeLynx.fr in France, also rose by 15% to £162.8m (2018: £141.4m).
Synergies across the network have also been afforded by the support of two technological centres of excellence – Confused.com in Cardiff and Admiral Technologies in Delhi – which are creating shared architecture to drive further collaboration and rapid innovation.
Confused.com, the largest platform in the network, reports outstanding performance, accounting for £20.4m of Penguin Portals’ profit (2018: £14.3m) and having doubled its profit since 2017 (£10.1m)3. It also marks the first year Confused.com reports more than £100m in revenue as it increases market share and focuses on improving customer experience. Rastreator.com and LeLynx.fr report a revenue increase of 8% (2019: £50.1m, 2018: £46.3m) reflecting LeLynx.fr’s growing customer base, and improved customer experience and diversification of products across both platforms.
The Penguin Portals network – which is made up of Penguin Portals Ltd and Preminen Price Comparison Holdings Ltd – is continuing on its mission to empower the world to make better choices. To achieve this, it’s taking on new territories, diversifying the services and verticals its platforms offer and improving customer experience using technology and data. A new ‘penguin’ will join Preminen – the network’s comparison incubator – later this year.
Notes to editors:
1. Comparison platforms Confused.com, Rastreator.com and LeLynx.fr, which make up Penguin Portals Ltd, reported a combined 52% growth in profit (2019: £23.9m, 2018: £15.7m) and 15% growth in revenue (2019: £162.8m, 2018: £141.4m). Of profit and revenue reported in 2019, Confused.com accounts for £20.4m and £112.7m, while Rastreator.com and LeLynx.fr account for £3.5m and £50.1m. See P57 of Admiral Group’s Full Year Results for more information.
2. ‘Penguin Portals’ is the largest network of comparison businesses for financial services, with a combined six operations across the globe (Confused.com, Rastreator.com, LeLynx.fr, Rastreator.mx, Tamoniki.com, GoSahi.com). These comparison platforms sit across two holding companies – Penguin Portals and Preminen Price Comparison Holdings Ltd. Both of these holding companies work closely together to realise a global growth ambition. Penguin Portals Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Admiral Group plc, made up of Confused.com (launched in 2002), Rastreator.com (launched in 2009), LeLynx.fr (launched in 2010) and Admiral Technologies (launched in 2012). Preminen Price Comparison Holdings Ltd acts as an incubator for newer comparison operations, including Rastreator.mx (launched in 2017), Tamoniki.com (launched in 2017) and GoSahi.com (launched in 2019). Preminen Price Comparison Holdings Ltd is a joint owned venture between Admiral Group plc and MAPFRE.
3. In 2017, Confused.com reported profit of £10.1m.
Bringing the comparison platforms closer together under Penguin Portals has helped us to deliver strong results over the past year. Each platform has numerous success stories to tell. When they share the detail of these stories with the wider colony they learn something they can take back to build on their own success.
Our teams are constantly finding ways to work together resulting in shared expertise, shared problem solving and improved results. Six heads are always better than one. The more penguins that join our colony the better we’ll be able deliver on our mission to empower people to make better decisions.”