(Alliance News) - e-banking and payments firm Equals Group PLC warned on Tuesday the Covid-19 scare has led to a slowdown in revenue.
Equals Group has four main business lines: international payments, "other" corporate products, retail banking, and travel cash & retail cards.
Revenue in January and February has been "resilient", the firm said and is 33% higher year-on-year. Corporate revenue has been robust in March, but there has been a slowdown in travel cash & retail cards revenue, the company said.
As a result, Equals Group is taking a "conservative" approach and will be implementing cost reduction plans.
The firm said all employees can work remotely and added it is "well-placed" to deal with any disruption.
Chief Executive Ian Strafford-Taylor said: "As Covid-19 spreads around the world the health and safety of our colleagues and customers is our top priority right now. We have and will continue to follow government advice and have implemented contingency plans to minimise disruption to the group.
"In the first two months of 2020, our corporate revenues have been resilient reflecting the investments made over the last couple of years. The smallest part of our business, travel cash, has been adversely affected by Covid-19 and, as such, we have moved quickly to address our cost base accordingly."
"Our plans for business continuity are now in full effect. Our sites in London and Chester are functioning as normal, maintaining our exceptionally high levels of encryption and security that meet our customers' needs. We will continue to monitor and assess the impact of Covid-19 as the situation develops and will update the market further as and when necessary," Strafford-Taylor continued.
Shares were 12% lower on Tuesday afternoon in London at 23.01 pence each.
By George Collard; georgecollard@alliancenews.com
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Equals Gp (EQLS)