Finablr PLC (LON:FIN), the UAE-based owner of the Travelex bureau de change chain, posted first-half results at the upper end of management’s guidance thanks to growth across all business lines.
Group income of US$742.2mln in the six months to end June was up 9% on the same period last year as the consumer-facing currency exchange arm grew income 3%, consumer cross-border payments income jumped 11.6% and at the B2B and payment technology segment leapt 20.5%.
Underlying earnings (EBITDA) of US$103.3mln were up 27% as margins increased by 195 basis points as improvements were made in all segments and a rising proportion of sales came from the higher-margin B2B arm, which is now the contributor of profits.
A US$30.1mln loss before tax, increased from US$9.5mln last time, reflected US$28.2mln of costs from floating on London’s main market in May, plus US$122mln of depreciation and amortisation, which was primarily due to the adoption of new IFRS 16 accounting rules.
Net debt was slashed to US$334.1mln from US$564.2mln at the end of December.
“Finablr delivered strong results at the upper end of our guidance, with growth in each of our three segments and across our channels and products,” said chief executive Promoth Manghat.
He said the results underscore how the markets in which the company operates are "characterized by increasing mobility and demand for invisible payments by consumers and businesses", with Finablr investing in its platform to continue capturing these opportunities.
Shares in the company, which were floated at 174p but have since sunk as low at 133p, were up 1% on Tuesday to 165.07p.