The information contained
within this Announcement is deemed by Equals Group Plc to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse
Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK law by virtue
of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
("MAR").
For
immediate release
|
3 July 2024
|
Equals Group
Plc
('Equals', the 'Group' or the 'Company')
H1-2024 Trading
Update
Notice of Interim
Results
Consistent with prior years, Equals
Group plc (AIM:EQLS), the fintech payments group focused on the
Enterprise and SME marketplace, provides the following trading
update for the six months ended 30 June 2024 ('H1-2024' or the
'Period').
The Group is pleased to announce a
strong period of trading in H1-2024 with revenues up £14.9 million
compared with the same period last year to £60.0 million, an
increase of 33% year-on-year (H1-2023: £45.0 million).
Revenues
Revenue per quarter, by product
line, customer group, and income type is shown below:
In £000's
|
Q1-2023
|
Q2-2023
|
|
Q1-2024
|
Q2-2024
|
By product
line
|
|
|
|
|
|
-
Solutions
|
6,506
|
7,082
|
|
11,157
|
13,541
|
-
International Payments
|
5,573
|
5,472
|
|
5,575
|
7,375
|
- White
Label
|
4,453
|
4,487
|
|
4,050
|
4,436
|
-
Cards
|
3,246
|
4,142
|
|
3,470
|
3,879
|
-
Banking
|
1,849
|
2,088
|
|
1,981
|
2,044
|
- Europe*
|
-
|
-
|
|
1,082
|
1,371
|
-
Bureau**
|
129
|
-
|
|
3
|
-
|
Total
|
21,756
|
23,271
|
|
27,318
|
32,646
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Totals per H1
|
|
45,027
|
|
|
59,964
|
By income
type
|
|
|
|
|
|
-
FX
|
12,240
|
12,495
|
|
11,600
|
13,638
|
-
Fees
|
7,829
|
8,260
|
|
11,580
|
13,593
|
-
Interest
|
1,687
|
2,516
|
|
4,138
|
5,415
|
|
21,756
|
23,271
|
|
27,318
|
32,646
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- % from
B2B
|
83%
|
82%
|
|
87%
|
88%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Working days
|
63
|
60
|
|
63
|
62
|
Revenue per day (£000's)
|
345
|
388
|
|
434
|
527
|
*
Equals Money Europe S.A. was acquired on 4 July
2023
**
The FX bureau was disposed of on 28 March 2023
Equals Money Europe ('EMEU'),
formerly Oonex S.A., was acquired by the Group on 4 July 2023.
Expressing EMEU's revenue on a like for like basis, including
pre-acquisition trading, denominated in the underlying currency of
Euro's, shows the following progression:
In €000's
|
Q1-2023
|
Q2-2023
|
|
Q1-2024
|
Q2-2024
|
EMEU revenue
|
757
|
816
|
|
1,263
|
1,608
|
EMEU has now been onboarded by a
Tier 1 UK bank and expects to be able to grow the revenues in this
jurisdiction, particularly in FX and Solutions, going
forward.
Revenue Analysis
The Group is augmenting the
presentation of its financial information to present the underlying
financial performance across its revenues. The table above shows
the breakdown between FX revenues, fees and interest
income.
FX revenues, which incorporate both
direct and white-label, are partly reliant on market conditions and
volatility in rates leading to increased customer activity. After a
quiet Q1-2024 we saw a strong pick up in Q2-2024. Overall, FX
revenues from B2C customers are subdued given macro-economic
conditions whereas B2B revenues are more robust.
In keeping with the strong growth in
our Solutions platform, fee-based revenues have grown both in
comparison to prior year and quarter-on-quarter during H1-2024.
Within Solutions, fee-based revenues are more recurring in nature
as customers typically enter into longer-term contracts with agreed
monthly minimum fees.
The Group also earns interest income
which is primarily earned on safeguarded customer balances held off
balance sheet, over three currencies (GBP, EUR and USD) and across
four Tier-1 banks.
Interest, particularly in Solutions,
is a key component of the pricing discussion with clients and is
therefore assigned to the segment generating the underlying
balances. Not only have balances grown but the Group has
renegotiated better rates and margins with its Tier-1 partner
banks.
Cash position
As at 30 June 2024, the Group had no
debt and had cash at bank of £20.5 million having already settled
the following items during the Period:
·
dividend paid to shareholders on 28 June 2024,
totaling £1.9 million;
·
costs pursuant to past acquisitions settled in the
Period, totaling £1.8 million; and
·
third-party costs incurred on the strategic review
totaling £0.5 million.
Notice of Interim Results
Consistent with prior years, Equals
is pleased to announce that it will report its interim results for
the six months ended 30 June 2024 in the week of 9 September
2024. The Group will also provide an update on trading in
Q3-2024. A further announcement will be made nearer the time
to confirm a precise date as well as meeting arrangements for
sell-side analysts and retail investors.
Strategic Review
The strategic review remains
ongoing, and a further update will be provided on 10th
July 2024.
- Ends -
For
more information, please contact:
Equals Group plc
|
|
Ian Strafford-Taylor, CEO
Richard Cooper, CFO
|
Tel: +44
(0) 20 7778 9308
www.equalsplc.com
|
Canaccord Genuity (Nominated
Adviser & Broker)
|
|
Max Hartley / Harry Rees
|
Tel: +44
(0) 20 7523 8150
|
Notes to Editors:
Equals Group plc is a
technology-led international payments group augmented by highly
personalised service for the payment needs of SME's whether these
be FX, card payments or via Faster Payments. Founded in 2007, the
Group listed on AIM in 2014. For more information, please
visit www.equalsplc.com.