MONY Group, the owner of MoneySuperMarket, has reported record full-year results for 2025, with revenue rising 2% to a record £446.3m and adjusted EBITDA climbing 2% to a new high of £145.1m.

The group delivered the results despite what it described as “significant headwinds” in car insurance, with growth driven by strong performances in its Money and Home Services divisions. Banking and borrowing activity proved particularly buoyant, while energy revenue returned to growth as consumers capitalised on competitive deals.

Profit after tax edged up 1% to £80.7m, while adjusted basic earnings per share rose 5% to 17.9p. Operating costs fell 4%, helping push the adjusted EBITDA margin up to 33%.

But some analysts weren’t convinced that the record financial performance could be sustained.

“MONY Group’s latest results are the kind that leave investors conflicted, solid fundamentals on one hand, but persistent cracks in sentiment on the other,” said Mark Crouch, market analyst at eToro.

“Record revenue and a modest rise in adjusted EBITDA show the core business is holding up, particularly against the well-flagged weakness in car insurance switching. Cost discipline is also clear, with operating expenses down 4% and adjusted EPS up 5%.

“Yet the share price paints a less flattering picture. Languishing at multi-year lows, shares have failed to rally on what is, objectively, a steady update, with investors seemingly unconvinced that incremental top-line gains will translate into sustained growth.”

Membership momentum

MONY Group’s SuperSaveClub now has more than 2.1 million members and accounts for 16% of group revenue, with the company noting improved customer lifetime value expectations. Provider services revenue grew 13%.

On the technology front, the group signed an enterprise agreement with OpenAI and launched a MoneySuperMarket ChatGPT app, alongside new products including Savings by MoneySuperMarket and Price Optimiser.

Dividend

The board proposed a final dividend of 9.30p per share, bringing the full-year payout to 12.63p, up 1%. A £30m share buyback was completed during 2025, with a further £25m programme now announced for the year ahead. Total shareholder returns for the year came to £96m.

The meagre increase in the dividend suggests underlying concerns about the business’s trajectory in the age of AI and whether revenue can continue to grow amid increased competition.

Outlook

The board said it was confident of delivering 2026 adjusted EBITDA within the current analyst consensus range of £142m to £153m, with a central estimate of £146m. Car insurance headwinds eased during the second half, though cashback and travel remained under pressure from weak consumer confidence.

Shares in video streaming technology developer Aferian (LON: AFRN) rebounded 88.2% to 0.8p following last week’s slump after the announcement it has extended its $16.5m banking facilities to 20 March 2026. The formal sale process continues but it may not raise as much as the bank facility. The share price is still down by two-fifths over the past fortnight.

Trellus Health (LON: TRLS), which has developed a digital platform to manage chronic health conditions, has secured a six-month extension to its agreement with Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems to provide Trellus Elevate for patients with moderate to severely active inflammatory bowel disease. Monthly cash burn has been reduced to $400,000. The 2025 revenues will be around $545,000. A $5m convertible facility has been secured, and the $737,500 drawdown from the facility will provide enough cash for the first quarter of 2026. The share price recovered 27.3% to 0.7p.

Shares in Fulcrum Metals (LON: FMET) continued their upward momentum with a 25.7% gain to 11p. Last week, the company reported additional positive data concerning gold and other product recoveries at the Teck Hughes tailings project. Gold recovery has been increased to 78% with up to 95% silver recoveries. There are also high recovery rates for tellurium and copper and 20% recoveries of gallium – that could be improved. There is a potential recoverable value of more than $550m of all these metals.

Retailer Mothercare (LON: MTC) has refinanced its £8m debt facility with GB Europe Management Services, which has been closed after a £8.68m payment, including fees. This has been replaced by a £8.46m facility with a consortium of investors, including Richard Griffiths, that is being provided to a special purpose vehicle. This lasts until the end of 2027 and has an annual interest charge of 25%. Pension payments have been deferred until March 2027. This means that £6m of payments have been deferred and there will be a long-term payment plan put in place. The share price increased 22.5% to 2.15p.

FALLERS

Skin treatments developer SkinBioTherapeutics (LON: SBTX) has slumped further following last week’s resignation of chief executive Stuart Ashman due to the misrepresentation of information. More details have been provided of the board investigation, and this will lead to the reversal of all accrued royalty income for 2024-25. That was £770,000, so it reduces 2024-25 revenues to £4.64m. This could be an isolated incident, but the investigation continues. Non-executive director Alyson Levett has been appointed to oversee the investigation into the allegations against the former chief executive. FRP Advisory will undertake an independent, forensic review. This year’s figures will be below expectations, when a performance near to breakeven had been estimated. The underlying potential for the business is thought to be unchanged. There is still £2.92m in the bank, down from £4.78m at the end of June 2025. Given the expected underperformance, it appears more cash will be required this year. OptiBiotix Health (LON: OPTI) says that it has no current intention to sell its 5.63% stake in SkinBioTherapeutics. The share price slumped a further 58% to 5.2p.

Investment company Jade Road Investments (LON: JADE) shareholdings have changed following the recent £6.1m equity subscription at $1/share. Baric Cakmakci is the largest shareholder with 23.2%, while NOIA Capital holds 18.6% and Fey AG 11.2%. The share price dived 43.8% to 45 cents/share.

Mathematical modelling and biostatistics services provider Physiomics (LON: PYC) increased interim total income from £354,000 to £528,000, including grants.  The operating loss rose from £249,000 to £327,000. The share price declined 23.1% to 0.5p.

Pulsar Helium Inc (LON: PLSR) has raised £7.4m at 80p/share. The cash will fund the development of the Topaz helium project in Minnesota. All six appraisal wells have been successful and there are concentrations of helium-3, which is used in quantum computing. Well testing and reservoir evaluation will continue and there will be an additional seismic survey. A pre-feasibility study for integrated helium and CO₂ production will be completed. There will also be cash spent on the Falcon project in Michigan. The share price dipped 19.3% to 81.5p.

The FTSE 100 had a spring in its step on Friday as UK economic data offered a rare opportunity to be optimistic about the domestic economy, boosting sentiment.

Despite FTSE 100 companies earning most of their revenue overseas, an improved mood helped London’s leading index higher to 10,689. This would be a fresh record closing high if maintained. Intraday record highs sit at 10,715.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will breathe a sigh of relief that at least one of her policies has resulted in a positive outcome – her action on tax has led to the largest government surplus on record. A more direct impact on company earnings came from better-than-expected UK retail sales, which will go a long way toward pacifying the doomsayers.

“For context, the UK government almost always runs a budget surplus in January, but this year’s £30.4bn was the largest on record, well ahead of market expectations and more than double the prior year’s level of £14.5bn,” explained Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“The 1.8% month-on-month uplift in retail sales volumes was also well ahead of forecasts for 0.2% growth, driven by gains across all major categories except department stores. That leaves sales volumes at their highest level since August 2022. But with employment growth flagging and wage growth slowing, households likely won’t be able to maintain this level of spending for long.”

85 of the FTSE 100 constituents were higher at the time of writing, reflecting the broad uptick in sentiment.

Diageo and Burberry were the two top risers, up between 2% and 3%, as the impact of better retail sales appeared to lift the sector, although the pair generates a lot of its cash overseas.

Other consumer-facing stocks were higher, with Games Workshop adding 1.5% and JD Sports rising 1%.

The upbeat economic data filtered into the market’s favourite FTSE 100 proxies for the UK economy, the housebuilders. Barratt Redrow gained 1.4%, and Berkeley Group rose 1.3%.

Anglo American was the standout corporate story of the day, as its 2025 results wrapped up a busy week for mining stocks. Anglo American EBITDA rose to $6.3 billion from $6.3 billion, but it’s hard not to think they could have done better.

“What is likely to be the last set of full-year numbers before Anglo American becomes Anglo Teck – barring a last-minute regulatory hitch – revealed a key reason why the deal is being pursued,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“There is a scramble for copper in the sector to rival the clamour among pre-teens for Labubu dolls last year. The metal’s crucial role in the rollout of AI data centres, electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure and kit is driving prices to new record highs.

“While profit from Anglo’s copper operations was up, production was down 10%. This underlines why a tie-up with Teck might be needed to build out scale in production of the metal.”