The latest half-year returns for PayPoint (PAY) aren't as illuminating as one might hope, at least in terms of the financials. Any appraisal needs to be seen in context of the payment services specialist's commercial refocus towards the independent retail sector. Following commercial trials, the new PayPoint One terminal and Core EPoS system were launched in September. And although the initial take-up has certainly been encouraging, it's too early to make a definitive call on whether they will underpin a successful business transition.
Revenue and gross profit were broadly in line with the 2015 comparatives, while the turnaround in earnings was down to an £18.2m goodwill impairment booked last year in relation to the seemingly interminable sale process of PayPoint's mobile payments business. Profitability was bolstered by deferral of costs associated with its rollout of PayPoint One into the second half, while administration costs in 2015 were swollen due to business restructuring costs.
Prior to these figures, JPMorgan Cazenove gave adjusted profit of £53.1m for the March 2017 year-end and EPS of 62.2p, against £50.1m and 58.4p in FY2016.
| PAYPOINT (PAY) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 1,050p | MARKET VALUE: | £715m | |
| TOUCH: | 1,050p-1,051p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,176p | LOW: 693p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.1%† | PE RATIO: | 38 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 111p* | NET CASH: | £49.6m | |
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 103 | 3.2 | -1.9 | 14.2 |
| 2016 | 102 | 24.7 | 29.0 | 15.0 |
| % change | -1 | +684 | - | +6 |
Ex-div: 1 Dec Payment: 15 Dec *Includes intangible assets of £18.3m, or 27p a share. †Excludes additional dividend of 12.2p a share. The additional dividend is one-third of the first £25m per annum of additional dividends announced last year-end. | ||||
