Moneysupermarket.com chief executive Peter Plumb to step down

The chief executive of price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com is to step down after eight years at the helm.

Peter Plumb will leave his post before the annual general meeting in May next year "to ensure smooth succession planning", the firm said in a statement.

The Flintshire-based company posted operating profits of £46.5m (€55.2m; $61.9m) in the first half of the year, a 21% increase from the same period in 2015.

Revenue increased 10% to £157.6m, in line with its trading forecast last month.

"First half trading up 10% is another good start for Moneysupermarket group," Plumb said.

"Millions of households used us to save money on household bills so far this year, and we have a growing number of innovative new products that help more people save in more ways.

"Saving customers money becomes even more relevant in these uncertain times after the EU referendum."

Revenues in the MoneySuperMarket.com business were up 12%, while earnings in MoneySavingExpert.com rose 32%.

However, TravelSupermarket.com revenues were down 19% amid challenging conditions in the holiday market.

Average monthly unique visitors to the company's websites amounted to 24.3 million between January and June, compared to 24.2 million in the same period last year.

"We added nearly three million more customer profiles to 'MyProfile' which allows customers to keep their data up to date," the firm said.

"Savings made by customers increased by 13% to £0.9bn demonstrating the value we deliver to our customers."