Eckoh PLC (LON:ECK) said it expects its full-year profits will be on a par with the previous year, despite the coronavirus pandemic.
The provider of secure payment products and customer contact solutions added the caveat in its half-year report that its full-year performance could still yet be affected by further extended lockdowns in the UK or the US.
Adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) in the six months to the end of September 2020 were £4.20mln, versus £4.22mln in the same period of the previous year.
Profit before tax was little changed at £2.53mln from £2.56mln the year before. Revenue declined by 13% to £15.68mln from £18.012mln in the same period of last year, although when one strips out the one-off Coral contract won last year, the decrease shrinks to 4%.
The US Secure Payments arm of the business saw its revenue surge 80% to US$6.5mln from US$3.6mln the year before, which offset the planned decline (by 61%) of revenue from its Support activities and an 85% decrease in revenue from the Coral contact.
UK revenue was down 11% year-on-year, with the pandemic having some impact on transactional revenues.
Recurring revenue at £11.5mln (2019: £12.8mln) forms 73% of total revenues, down from 79% (excluding the Coral contract) the year before, reflecting the high growth in the US Secure Payments division.
The group ended the reporting period with net cash of £12.9mln, up £2mln on a year earlier and £1.3mln more than it had at the start of the six-month reporting period.
"In this challenging trading period Eckoh delivered a robust performance, in line with our expectations, generating comparable levels of profit to last year, which reflects the resilience of our business,” said Nik Philpot, the chief executive officer of Eckoh said in the results statement.
“Our high levels of recurring revenue, a solid order book, enterprise clients, a strong balance sheet, and prudent cost control have enabled us to manage the impact of the pandemic effectively. With a strong sales pipeline, we look to the future with confidence," he added.