The growth of PayPoint’s (PAY) latest point-of-sale terminal, PayPoint One, has continued to be a source of pride for the group. Launched in June last year, it has grown rapidly, reaching 6,898 sites by the end of November 2017, leaving it within striking distance of its target of 8,000 by the end of March 2018.
The terminals make up one part of the group’s retail services division, which has increasingly become the focus point of its growth strategy, especially given the declining rates of bill transactions and top-ups on prepaid cards and mobiles. Collect+, a part of the retail services division, continued to grow, with parcel volumes up 13.6 per cent to 11.9m and sites increased by 10 per cent to 6,794 during the period under review, and exceeding 7,200 at the release of results.
The group has now completed payment of the special dividends it committed to following the disposal of its online and mobile payments business, but as part of its commitment to return surplus cash to shareholders it is paying an additional dividend of 12.2p, adding to its already attractive yield.
Analysts at Canaccord Genuity left their full-year forecasts unchanged following the update, and continue to expect adjusted profits of £52.3m, giving EPS of 61.3p for the year to March 2018 (£69.1m and 87.1p in March 2017).
| PAYPOINT (PAY) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 915p | MARKET VALUE: | £624m | |
| TOUCH: | 913-918.5p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,070p | LOW: 806p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.0% | PE RATIO: | 10 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 83p* | NET CASH: | £27.6m | |
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2016 | 102 | 24.7 | 29.0 | 15.0 |
| 2017** | 98 | 24.4 | 29.1 | 15.3 |
| % change | -4 | -1 | +0 | +2 |
| Ex-div: | 07 Dec | |||
| Payment: | 21 Dec | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £22.2m, or 33p a share **Dividend does not include an additional special dividend of 12.2p | ||||
