The publicly-listed payments company focused on the SME market Equals Group PLC announced its final results for 2023, reporting strong financial performance across all key metrics.
The Group achieved record revenue, totaling almost £96 million and rising 37% compared to £69.7 million which was reported a year before. Other key financial metrics, including adjusted EBITDA, profit and EPS, also experienced visible growth.
Significant Increase in Equals’ Transaction Volumes and Revenue
Transaction volumes executed on the Group's platforms increased 35% to £12.4 billion compared to the previous year. Revenue grew even faster at 37%, reaching £95.7 million, demonstrating the success of focusing on higher-margin business lines. The B2B segment accounted for 82% of total revenue, up from 76% in 2022.
All core products within Equals Money experienced growth, with Equals Solutions showing a particularly strong uptake. International Payments revenue grew 14% to £39.4 million, while Card-based revenue increased 22% to £15.2 million. Equals Solutions revenue nearly doubled, growing 99% to £31.0 million.
“We continued to grow strongly in 2023, achieving record levels of revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, and operational cash generation,” Ian Strafford-Taylor, the CEO of Equals Group PLC, said. “This allowed us to continue to invest in the business and declare a maiden dividend.”
The improvement in transaction volumes and revenue led to 70% growth in Adjusted EBITDA, reaching £20.6 million. The Group's operations remain strongly cash-generative, providing flexibility for opportunistic M&A activity, as demonstrated by the acquisition of Oonex S.A. in July 2023.
Continued Investment in People and Technology
Equals Group continued to invest in its employees, with the average headcount increasing to 341 in 2023. The Group additionally made significant advancements in its product offerings and functionality, including the roll-out of the Equals Money platform to SME customers and the Equals Solutions platform to larger corporates.
“We also expanded internationally, broadened our product offering and hired greater talent to take the Group forward,” the CEO added. “I am immensely proud of the workforce that allowed us to reach these levels of performance, and I want to thank them all for their efforts in achieving these results.”
Equals Presents Positive Outlook for 2024
The Group has started 2024 on a strong note, with revenue in H1 2024 up to 12 April 2024 reaching £31.9 million, an escalation of 30% compared to the same period in 2023. According to the report, the outlook for the business remains strong.
“Revenues per working day up to 12 April 2024 were £443k, an increase of 27% over £350k per day in Q1-2023 and 5% higher than £422k per day achieved in Q4-2023,” the report added.
This confirms the results published nearly a month ago for Q1 of the fiscal year 2024, in which the fintech reported an income of £22.2 million.
