Safecharge Reports Solid and Steady Metrics for First Half of 2017

Payment services provider SafeCharge (LSE: SCH) has reported its interim results for the six months ending June 30th, 2017. The first half of 2017 was robust with growth in the volume of transactions as the total value secured robust revenues. A decline in gross profit and in Earnings Before Interest, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) were primarily due to decreased margins as the company diversified its clients.

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The number of transactions increased by 30 percent year-on-year to 75.6 million in the first half of 2017, compared to 58 million transactions in the first half of 2016.

The value of transactions increased by 7 percent to $4.2 billion in H1 2017 as compared to $3.95 billion in H1 of 2016. Revenues also increased by 2 percent to $53 million during the period. The results are primarily due to a reshaping of the existing customer base during the past year. The quality of revenues contributed $4.6 million in the comparative period.

Gross profits dipped 4 percent to $30.4 million. The number also affected the adjusted EBITDA figure, which fell by 7 percent to $15.6 million during H1 2017. Again, this dip in profit and EBITDA was due to the reshaping of the existing customer base, Safecharge reported.

The interim divided per share that was recommended was 7.69 cents which was 10 percent more than what it was in H1 2016.

David Avgi, CEO of SafeCharge, commented on the results: "The Company has performed well and made positive progress with the implementation of its organic growth strategy and focus on delivering high quality revenue. We continue to invest in our payment and risk platform to drive future growth and are delighted that our customers recognise the benefits that SafeCharge's Payments solutions bring to them."

"The Group has enjoyed a strong start to the second half of 2017 benefiting from the launch of new clients, many of whom had started processing on the Company's global acquiring platform by the end of the first half of the year. The Group is confident that its focus on higher quality earnings driven by its healthy pipeline will Yield revenue growth in 2017 and build even stronger profitable momentum in 2018 and beyond," Avi elaborated.

Safecharge reported that during the period, it had provided payment solutions to large clients like 888.com and Plus500 with other major clients like Bet365, Paddy Power and Euro Bet also in the pipeline.

Looking ahead, the report says that it would be adding the Application Programming Interface (API) as a download on its website to reduce the acquisition and goto market time. The company would also be trying to improve service to local markets by adding local service and accounting teams.

Overall, in the first half of 2017, Safecharge performed strongly. The company's outlook for the second half of 2017 is highlighting that higher quality earnings will translate into an stronger momentum in 2018 and beyond.