Moneysupermarket gets dual crunch lift

"We've seen a near-50% increase on the money website," said Ferrari-driving chief executive Simon Nixon. "That's pretty good given that we've been living with the credit crunch for seven months. Definitely more customers have been coming to us because of the credit crunch.

"People are tightening their belts and at the same time looking for better value deals. So we've seen a lot more traffic on the savings and credit card channels."

Moneysupermarket floated at 170p in July last year, making Nixon - who owns 55% of the business - a multi-millionaire.

The shares have fallen below the flotation price. At today's 136.25p, up 3.75p, his stake is worth just over £350 million.

Nixon said the changes in the use of the website had been driven by consumers and by financial services providers.

"The upturn in credit cards appears to be from people who are finding it tough to get other unsecured loans. The banks and providers have clearly tightened their credit scoring, making it harder for people to borrow," he added.

"Several providers have dropped out of the secured loans market while Northern Rock, obviously, has quit the unsecured loans market."

The group's insurance website had a strong year, as did travel, while the new home services site grew from its low base. Total visits to the group's internet sites rose by 54% to 91 million. Nixon said there was strong evidence advertisers are increasing their spend on online media, where they can measure results, rather than traditional media.

He also predicted further consolidation in a sector where Simply-Switch recently closed and PriceGrabber has been put up for sale by Experian. He said: "In most of these markets, there is room for just two or three players. That's one strong market leader with a couple of others. I'm not interested in buying PriceGrabber."

The group's full-year results came in slightly higher than it predicted in December, with revenues up 56% at £163 million and earnings before interest, tax and depreciation ahead by 57% at £52.9 million.

The group is paying its first dividend, which is a final payout of 1.63p a share. That means Nixon collects a cheque for £4.4 million.