Accesso Technology trades better than expected despite lower revenues

(Sharecast News) - Technology solutions provider Accesso said on Wednesday that recent trading had been better than expected after more venues using its products reopened following Covid-19 lockdowns.
Accesso said first-half revenues more than halved to $24.6m as forced closures beginning in March weighed on its performance. However, the AIM-listed group highlighted that this figure was still ahead of earlier projections.

Transaction revenue, which was severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, fell 66.7% to £12.1m, while ticketing and distribution revenues dropped 53% to $16.8m and guest experience revenues nearly halved to $7.8m.

Accesso also swung to an underlying loss of $7.4m, a marked turnaround from the EBITDA of $11.4m recorded a year earlier, while pre-tax losses came to $18.47m - a 298% widening year-on-year.

Looking ahead, Accesso said almost 80% of passport and 60% of LoQueue customer venues had reopened, and also highlighted that it had won multiple new contracts in the ski sector ahead of the winter season.

Chief executive Steve Brown said: "During the first half of 2020 we have been successful in managing Accesso through the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and preparing the business to navigate through further uncertainty.

"While the pandemic does continue to impact our end-markets, we are now seeing a significant number of operators reopening their doors at reduced capacity."

As of 1050 BST, Accesso shares were up 9.47% at 312.0p.