Hank Uberoi was heading up a global hedge fund when a company named Earthport (EPO) came across his desk. Spotting a unique opportunity to disrupt the global payments space - a maze of regulation, bureaucracy and outdated practices - he joined the upstart that was building an international business-to-business payments network connecting banks, e-retailers and money transfer companies.
Mr Uberoi won't be regretting his career move today - Earthport grew like-for-like full-year revenue by two-thirds and narrowed its operating loss by 22 per cent. It signed up 33 new clients including HSBC and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and has 25 customers that are under contract or currently implementing its technology. Moreover, in the past two months it has raised about £26m to fund its expansion into Asia, and entered the pre-paid card market via a contract with Banco de Brasil.
Earthport has bolstered its platform by acquiring foreign-exchange specialist Baydonhill and agreeing to buy a stake in financial technology specialist and supplier ASPOne. It is also investing in staff and infrastructure, leading broker Panmure Gordon to forecast a pre-tax loss of £2.3m in the year to June 2015, giving a loss per share of 0.5p. However, it expects a £6.6m profit and EPS of 1.5p for the following year.
| EARTHPORT (EPO) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 46p | MARKET VALUE: | £218m | |
| TOUCH: | 45-46p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 50p | LOW: 20p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 3p* | NET CASH: | £9.1m | |
| Year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1.9 | -5.1 | -5.3 | nil |
| 2011 | 2.5 | -7.5 | -4.4 | nil |
| 2012 | 3.0 | -9.6 | -3.9 | nil |
| 2013 | 4.1 | -8.1 | -2.6 | nil |
| 2014 | 10.8 | -6.3 | -1.8 | nil |
| % change | +161 | - | - | - |
*Includes intangible assets of £9.1m, or 2p a share | ||||
