(Alliance News) - Newly listed cross-border payments firm Finablr PLC on Tuesday reaffirmed guidance following a "strong" interim performance at the top end of expectations.
Finablr, which owns foreign exchange business Travelex, joined the London Stock Exchange in May, raising GBP153 million in the process.
For the six months to June, group income rose 6.2% on a reported basis to USD733.6 million, with the adjusted figure climbing 9.1% to USD742.2 million.
Finablr's interim pretax loss has widened to USD23.4 million from USD2.5 million, on the back of increased costs, most significantly USD28.1 million related to the initial public offering, as well as higher depreciation and amortisation.
The company posted reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of USD167.9 million, doubled year-on-year, and the adjusted figure rose 27% to USD103.3 million.
Finablr processed USD64.8 billion worth of transactions during the period, 14% higher than the year before.
"Finablr delivered strong results at the upper end of our guidance, with growth in each of our three segments and across our channels and products. B2B and Payment Technology Solutions, our fastest growing segment and now the single largest contributor to group Ebitda, enjoyed growth from existing customers and continued pipeline momentum," said Chief Executive Promoth Manghat.
"We were disciplined in the execution of our strategy as we continued with our technology transformation, created new partnerships and focused on high growth markets."
"The markets in which we operate are characterized by increasing mobility and demand for invisible payments by consumers and businesses. Our strong first half results underscore this trend. Finablr's platform, combining global regulatory licencing, omni-channel distribution and differentiated technology, uniquely positions us to continue capturing these opportunities," Manghat continued.
"We expect to perform in line with the guidance that we shared at the time of our IPO."
This guidance includes medium-term high single-digit adjusted income growth, and an adjusted Ebitda margin of 20.0%, also in the medium term. This stood at 13.9% in the first half of 2019.
Finablr shares were 0.9% higher on Tuesday morning in early trade at 164.88 pence each, meaning shares have lost 5.8% since the IPO.
