A strong set of maiden half-year results from SafeCharge (SCH) should come as no surprise. As early as June, the gambling payment specialist - which listed on London's junior market in April - said full-year numbers for 2014 would "materially exceed" market expectations.
The SafeCharge IPO marks another impressive debut for Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi, who floated gambling software company Playtech (PTEC) back in 2006. The SafeCharge flotation raised $125m (£78m) of new money for the group, but Mr Sagi still owns about two-thirds of the company, having sold no shares in the IPO.
With adjusted cash profits (which exclude IPO costs) up 117 per cent at $10.8m, chief financial officer Tim Mickley said the first-half numbers "spoke for themselves". What's more, the maiden dividend will be paid six months ahead of schedule: Mr Mickley said the deadline had been brought forward to reflect the board's confidence in the rest of the year.
After the period-end, SafeCharge, which sells payment solutions to online gambling companies, secured so-called "principal member status for merchant acquiring" with VISA Europe. This means it can process VISA transactions for merchants in the UK and across Europe, having already secured similar status with Mastercard in 2013.
Analysts at Shore Capital expect pre-tax profit of $20.4m for 2014, giving EPS of 13.5ȼ.
| SAFECHARGE (SCH) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 224p | MARKET VALUE: | £336m | |
| TOUCH: | 223-225p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 227p | LOW: 162p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.8% | PE RATIO: | 153 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 96ȼ | NET CASH: | $142m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (ȼ) | Dividend per share (ȼ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 19.4 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0 |
| 2014 | 34.4 | 5.6 | 3.9 | 2.88 |
| % change | +77 | +376 | +2306 | - |
Ex-div: 24 Sep Payment: 17 Oct £1=$1.61 | ||||
