Bango plc (LON:BGO) saw its shares jump higher today after the mobile payments group revealed it ended the first half of 2017 with enough cash to fund it through to profitability.
In late afternoon trading, Bango shares were over 9.5%, or 22.0p higher at 249.5p.
In its interim results statment, the AIM-listed firm said its cash at the end of June was £5.6mln, barely changed from £5.7mln at the end of 2016, while losses are narrowing quickly.
READ: Bango surges on Japanese carrier billing scheme for Amazon
Adjusted underlying losses, or LBITDA, for the first half of the year totalled £1.01mln versus LBITDA in the same period of last year of £1.64mln.
Loss before tax narrowed to £2.03mln from £2.82mln.
The cracking growth in end user spend (EUS) on the Bango platform continued, doubling to £92.31mln from £46.17mln in the first half of last year.
Furthermore, annualised EUS at the end of August was running at more than £400mln, compared to a run rate of £167mln at the same time last year.
End User Spend the key
Bango makes a “turn” on each transaction processed, so the EUS is a key metric for the company. Revenue is calculated either as a percentage of the sale value or as a fixed fee per transaction.
Revenue from EUS more than doubled in the first half of 2017 to £1.65mln from £0.77mln.
A highlight of the reporting period was enabling carrier billing – where mobile phone users can buy goods and have the payment processed via their network provider – in Japan.
The company also flagged up two operators in the Middle East who switched to the Bango platform to process their Google Play transactions.
Initial uplift in user spend of 35% was gained immediately, with an increase in unique users of more than 25%, Bango noted.
"With a unique, powerful technology platform and winning strategy to power the world's leading online stores, Bango continues to gain rapid momentum. The largest internet businesses are expanding their use of the Bango Platform to reach new customers and increase the return on their marketing investments,” said Ray Anderson, Bango’s chief executive officer.
“Adding to the substantial growth achieved by expanding the reach of Google Play and Microsoft Windows Store, in June 2017 Bango technology enabled Amazon to start using carrier billing to collect payments from consumers buying physical goods in Japan.
READ: Bango has some high expectations to meet
“New capabilities and unique innovations added to the Bango Platform over the last few years are now starting to be used to open similar opportunities worldwide. Bango continues to invest in the development of its platform to embrace additional routes and markets and attract further innovation on the Bango Platform,” Anderson continued.
“Merchant partners benefit from fast growth in existing billing routes, and new payment routes added through the year. New customers with ambitious growth plans are also coming to the Bango Platform as a result of business development activity - especially in the USA and Japan. Bango therefore remains confident of achieving at least 100% year-on-year growth in End User Spend for the third consecutive year," Anderson concluded.
Looking ahead, the Bango platform is already being used to process payments for physical goods rather than services, while trials of its technology in the Internet of Things (IoT) space are in progress.
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