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Payments specialist PayPoint has grown revenues by £10m last year and said profits will be at the top end of expectations.
The group has issued a trading update ahead of its annual results for the year to 31 March, outlining “positive” performance last year.
It said net revenue is expected to have risen to around £125m from £115.1m last year, with “accelerated revenue growth” across all three business divisions.
It anticipates profit before tax for the financial year will be at the top end of the range of market expectations, excluding exceptional items and Appreciate Group impacts since completion of its acquisition, driven by the strong momentum across the business.
PayPoint said it has “materially enhanced its platform and capabilities” in the past year – expanding its integrated payments platform, prepaid solutions and its retailer and SME proposition.
It added its e-commerce offering had gone from “strength to strength”, delivering record volumes and an “unparalleled in-store experience for consumers”. This enhanced platform will, it said, unlock future opportunities and deliver sustainable and profitable growth for shareholders.
The integration of Appreciate Group (now known as Love2shop) continues to “progress well”, opening up further revenue opportunities, expanding its capabilities further in the gifting, rewards and prepaid savings markets. These opportunities have accelerated since completion, it said.
The group added that trading has been positive early in the first quarter of its 2024 financial year.
It will update the market further at its preliminary results on 6 July.
The group’s shares have jumped 7.4% to 405.2p on this morning’s update.
Morning update
Origin Enterprises, the international agronomy services group, has acquired British Hardwood Tree Nursery Limited.
BHT is one of the UK’s leading specialist wholesale suppliers of bare root trees, shrubs, hedgerow plants and planting accessories to the forestry, farming, estate management, corporate and landscaping sectors.
Sean Coyle, CEO of Origin Enterprises, commented: “The addition of British Hardwood Tree Nursery complements recent acquisitions and further strengthens the Group’s amenity, environmental and ecological portfolio. Tree planting will continue to play an important role to help tackle climate change and restore biodiversity.
“We welcome British Hardwood Tree Nursery to the Group and look forward to working with the team, utilising their expertise in offering planting advice, horticulture and the supply of quality plants.”
On the markets this morning, the FTSE 100 is up 0.7% to 7,540.5pts.
Other than PayPoint, risers include Just Eat Takeaway.com, up 3.5% to 1,207p, Ocado, up 3.5% to 364.7p and Supermarket Income Reit, up 2.6% to 81.6p.
Fallers include Finsbury Food Group, down 1% to 91.1p, Compass Group, down 0.5% to 2,204p and Hotel Chocolat, down 0.3% to 156p.
Yesterday in the City
The FTSE 100 closed the first day of June up 0.6% to 7,490.3pts.
Fallers included Ocado, dropping 4.5% to 352.4p, PayPoint, down 2.2% to 377.5p, THG, down 1.8% to 60.7p, C&C Group, down 1.7% to 143p and Nichols, down 1% to 970p.
The day’s risers included Bakkavor, up 3.1% to 92.8p, Cranswick, up 2.7% to 3,338p, McBride, up 2.2% to 30.3p, Pets at Home, up 2.2% to 383.2p and Glanbia, up 2.1% to €13.62.
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