Earthport (AIM: EPO.L), the leading cross border payment services utility, is pleased to announce its unaudited interim results for the six-month period ended 31 December 2017 (H1 FY 2018).
Financial Highlights
• Revenues grew by 8% to £15.4 million (H1 FY 2017: £14.3 million)
o Transactional revenues comprised 94% of H1 FY 2018 total revenues
• Adjusted Gross Profit1 decreased by 3.0% to £9.8 million (H1 FY 2017: £10.1 million)
o Adjusted Gross Margin decreased to 64% (H1 FY 2017: 70%), due to increase in network delivery costs and business mix
• Gross margin of 62% (H1 FY 2017: 69%) after the impact of warrant charge, resulting in gross profit of £9.5 million (H1 FY 2017: £9.9 million)
• Administrative expenses increased by 10% to £14.3 million (H1 FY 2017: £13.0 million) and represented 93% of revenues (H1 FY 2017: 91%)
• Adjusted EBITDA loss increased by approximately £1.7 million to £3.2 million (H1 FY 2017: £1.5 million)
• Adjusted operating loss2 increased by £1.6 million to £4.8 million (H1 FY 2017: £3.2 million), in line with management’s expectations as announced in February 2018
• Loss after taxation increased by £1.9 million to £4.8 million (H1 FY 2017: £2.9 million)
• Loss per share increased to 0.93 pence (H1 FY 2017: 0.61 pence)
• Cash Balance at 31 December 2017 amounted to £30.6 million, compared to £11.9 million at 30 June 2017, which includes net proceeds of £24 million from the fundraising completed in October 2017
Operational Highlights
• Transactions and payment volume continued to be robust through the period
o Number of transactions was approximately 5 million, in line with the prior year period (H1 FY 2017: 5 million). Excluding the recent change at one of our leading e-commerce clients announced in December 2017, the number of transactions increased by 11%
o Payment volume increased by 12% to $8.7 billion (H1 FY 2017: $7.8 billion)
o Average revenue per transaction increased by 9% to £2.87 (H1 FY 2017: £2.64), caused by the discontinuation of the low-value e-commerce business
• Earthport now has over 65 countries in its local banking network, with the ability to deliver payments to 200 countries in total
• The Company enters H2 FY 2018 with a record pipeline
Phil Hickman, Interim CEO of Earthport plc, commented: "While there have been clear challenges as we announced in December 2017, Earthport’s core offering and market positioning remains strong. We continue to deliver growth in revenue, expand our geographic presence and deliver an increasingly relevant service to our clients. We currently have a strong pipeline with increasing opportunities within the banking and ecommerce sectors, as well as in new geographies. This, coupled with continued growth in our existing client base, gives us confidence in meeting our expectations for FY 2018 and becoming cash flow breakeven by the end of FY 2019.”
1. Adjusted gross profit and margin figures exclude a warrant charge of £0.33 million (H1 FY2017: £0.23 million)
2. Adjusted loss before taxation is stated before the unrealised fair gain adjustment of £1.2 million (H1 FY2017: £0.94 million) and share based payment charge of £1.0 million (H1 FY2017: £1.1 million)