TruFin PLC (AIM:TRU) said today that it expects to report an adjusted loss before tax for 2023 that is "in line with expectations" and reiterated guidance for the year ahead.
Adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) are expected to be ahead of expectations, representing an overall earnings loss of £3 million, a 47% improvement compared to an EBITDA loss of £5.7 million in 2022.
TruFin made at least £20.2 million of revenue for the year to 31 December 2023, an increase of nearly a third, the holding company said in a statement on Thursday.
Group income still fell short of expectations, it said, due to platform deals at console game developer Playstack Ltd taking longer to negotiate.
TruFin, which specialises mainly in financial services, said it still expects Playstack will be profitable, in line with targets, supported by the launch of The Last Faith in the fourth quarter.
It estimates an overall loss for the year of no more than £6.3 million, down from a loss of £8.2 million in 2022.
These figures exclude the exceptional loss on the sale of Vertus Capital Ltd, which has been adjusted to reflect the date of the sale in 2022, it said.
James van den Bergh, chief executive officer of TruFin, said: "Whilst a delay in finalising Playstack's platform deals and the associated financial impact is frustrating to report, the board is confident that the group is well placed to deliver significant value for shareholders.
“TruFin made significant progress in 2023. Having disposed of Vertus, we have invested in Oxygen, Satago and Playstack in order to maximise the value of these entities ahead of possible value realisations.”
Satago Financial Solutions and Oxygen Finance Group performed “in line with expectations” in 2023 and continue to make progress both operationally and financially, the company said.
The CEO added that Satago is “successfully migrating existing Lloyds Bank factoring clients onto its platform” and attracting interest from a growing list of UK and overseas banks.
Another of its portfolio companies, Oxygen, is expected to benefit from this year’s planned investment programme.
Meanwhile, Playstack is honing its strategy on sourcing, publishing and distributing award-winning PC and console games, TruFin said.
TruFin remains capitalised, with at least £9 million of cash at the end of the year, of which unrestricted cash was no less than £5.5 million, and said the group is fully funded to profitability.