Online payment processing group Safecharge International (SCH) continued its acquisitive growth strategy during the first six months of the year. The group completed the purchase of CreditGuard, which chief executive David Avgi says will give it greater access to markets including insurance and aviation, as well as pre-paid card distributor 3V. Its core processing business won more than 100 new clients, with processing volumes rising by a third year on year to $3.3bn (£2.1bn). In turn, segmental revenue grew by a third to $45.5m, helping boost group gross profit by 40 per cent to $28.5m.
The group launched its Visa acquiring services during the first half, meaning it can now process Visa payments as well as those made with Mastercard. Mr Avgi says this will benefit Safecharge in "the quality rather than quantity" of its clients. The group also readied its Pay.com mobile wallet and Mastercard pre-paid card for launch during the final quarter of this year. Via partnerships with Singapore-based credit card payment processor 2C2P and German online broker Fintech, management hope to further expand the group's footprint in southeast Asia and banking, respectively.
Broker Shore Capital expects adjusted EPS of 17ȼ for the full 2015 financial year, up from 14.6ȼ in 2014.
SAFECHARGE INTERNATIONAL (SCH) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 279p | MARKET VALUE: | £422m | |
| TOUCH: | 276-282p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 296p | LOW: 226p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.1% | PE RATIO: | 29 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 104ȼ* | NET CASH: | £116m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (ȼ) | Dividend per share (ȼ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 34.4 | 5.6 | 3.9 | 2.88 |
| 2015 | 49.5 | 11.7 | 8.2 | 4.00 |
| % change | +44 | +110 | +113 | +39 |
Ex-div: 24 Sep Payment: 16 Oct *Includes intangible assets of $30.8m, or 20ȼ a share £1=$1.54 | ||||
