Equals (AIM: EQLS), a publicly-listed fintech company, issued two important updates today (Wednesday). The first piece of information refers to the completion of the acquisition of Oonex S.A., a full-service payment institution. The second update summarized the trading results for the first half of 2023. H1 proved to be a record-breaking period for Equals, with the company's revenues increasing 43%.

Equals Reports Record Revenues

According to the trading update for the period from January to June 2023, Equals' revenues reached £45 million, significantly growing from £31.4 million which was reported in the same period last year. Revenues also increased compared to the previous half-year (21%), from £38.3 million.

The report demonstrates that Equals achieved positive growth in all key sectors of its operations. The strongest performance was observed in the 'Solutions' sector, where there was an appreciation of 116% compared to H1 2022, reaching £13.6 million, and an increase of 46% compared to H2 2022.

"It is very pleasing to be able to report half-year revenues for 2023 that exceed those posted for the whole year in 2021. To have come so far in such a short period of time is testament to the incredible efforts of everyone who works for the Equals Group," Ian Strafford-Taylor, the CEO of Equals, commented on the trading update.

The average daily revenue of the company in the first half of the current year amounted to £363,000, growing by 42% from £255,000 reported last year. The management confirms that the financial results align with the forecasts for the fiscal year 2023. Furthermore, the Adjusted EBITDA margins are expected to be 20%, even after the acquisition of Oonex.

Reacting to the news of the financial results and the acquisition of Oonex, Equals shares are up more than 3% today to £99, with year-to-date gains of almost 11%.

Equals Completes the Acquisition of Oonex

Before publishing the trading update, the company issued a regulatory filing regarding the completion of the acquisition of Oonex S.A. The National Bank of Belgium (NBB) confirmed that it had no objections to the transaction, which was closed on 4 July 2023.

The payment for the acquisition is being made by issuing an initial batch of 3,938,294 ordinary shares with a value of 1 pence each in Equals Group plc. Additional batches of 61,706 and up to 1,000,000 shares (subject to certain conditions) will be issued within the next six months.

"We are delighted that the NBB has confirmed that it had no objections to the change of control for Oonex, so we can now commence growing the business in Brussels as well as integrating it into the Equals technology platform," added Strafford-Taylor. He sees Oonex as a tremendous opportunity for Equals.

The acquisition of Oonex and its regulatory licenses and banking relationships enable Equals to introduce its payments to new European markets. Oonex's ability to issue local IBAN numbers in the Eurozone significantly expands the addressable market for the group's platform and products.

For Equals it is another acquisition after the purchase of open banking startup Roqqett Limited for £2.25 million back in November 2022.