Pci-pal Share News (PCIP)

(Sharecast News) - PCI-PAL reported a strong first-half trading performance on Tuesday, delivering a record increase in annual recurring revenue as demand for its secure cloud-based payments solutions continued to build.

The AIM-traded group said it achieved a further record first half for new business wins in the six months ended 31 December, supported by increasingly efficient customer deployments.

As a result, annual recurring revenue rose to £20.3m at the period end, up 21% year-on-year, or 25% on a constant currency basis.

Contracted annual recurring revenue, the company's leading indicator of future annual recurring revenue, increased 18% year on year to £24m, or 21% at constant currency.

Revenue for the period increased 7% year on year to £11.3m, rising 14% on a normalised basis after adjusting for revenue deferred from the 2024 financial year and recognised in 2025.

Customer retention remained robust, with gross revenue retention stable at 95% and net revenue retention improving to 105% from 103% a year earlier.

The company reported 100% platform uptime across the half year, supporting customer confidence and retention.

Cash at the end of the period stood at £2.6m, reflecting additional investment outlined to investors in September.

The group said it remained debt free.

"It has been a strong period of trading for the business," said chief executive James Barham.

"We are seeing the highest levels of demand for our core secure payments products, delivering the highest level of new business secured in any first half period of trading, and a highly encouraging sales pipeline as we enter the second half."

He added that momentum was building with strategic partners and that the company had grown both its SMB and enterprise customer base as planned, including further penetration of the US healthcare sector.

"With this progress in the first half, we enter the second half with strong momentum and confidence in the group's ability to continue delivering against its strategic objectives and the board's expectations for 2026," he said.

At 1332 GMT, shares in PCI-PAL were up 4.4%% at 56.9p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.