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Moneysupermarket.com, the group behind the well-known price comparison website, has reported a 63 per cent jump in first-half revenues.

In its maiden interim results for the six months to June 30th, the company revealed that its revenues climbed to £78.5 million, up from £48.2 million in the previous year.

The company, which floated on the London Stock Exchange at the end of July, subsequently reported pre-tax profits for the period of £6.8 million. That compared to a loss of £8.1 million for the first-half of 2006.

Moneysupermarket.com, which allows consumers to compare travel and financial services prices, partially attributed the growth in revenues to an increase in the number of visitors using its websites.

The number of people using the group's internet services increased by 58 per cent to 44.7 million, over the first-half.

As a result Moneysupermarket.com's internet business generated £73.5 million of revenues, representing 94 per cent of the company's turnover during the period.

The company, which said its gross margins increased from 55 to 66 per cent over the year, also reported that additional spending on advertising had resulted in a "significant improvement" in the recognition of its online brand.

Moneysupermarket.com revealed that trading in the third quarter had started "very strongly", with the poor summer weather believed to have increased internet activity.

It stressed that to date the weakening of the credit markets had not impacted upon its business.

Commenting on the first-half results Moneysupermarket.com chief executive Simon Nixon said: "We have built a stronger platform for future growth."