FairFX (FFX) detailed a “milestone year of development”, in addition to its first full-year of profitability since floating in 2014. The e-banking and payments specialist expanded its digital banking services with the help of two acquisitions. Q-Money, purchased in January 2017, brought the company an e-money licence, while CardOne, purchased in August via a £26m share placing, brought in £185m in gross deposits. Acquisitions aside, FairFX’s core segments also traded well: currency card turnover and international payments turnover climbed 17.9 per cent and 19.5 per cent, respectively, which meant that gross transaction volumes rose 41 per cent to over £1.1bn.
For now, amidst heightened regulation around data protection, the group is focusing on internalising parts of its supply chain, removing intermediaries and ultimately improving margins. As part of this strategy, FairFX bought City Forex in January this year (the business has partnered with FairFX since 2007, providing its travel currency service).
Prior to these results, Cenkos forecast adjusted pre-tax profit of £7.1m for 2018, with EPS of 4.7p, against £0.41m and 0.4p in 2017.
| FAIRFX (FFX) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 102p | MARKET VALUE: | £159m | |
| TOUCH: | 100-104p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 107p | LOW: 50p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 276 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 23p* | NET CASH: | £17.8m** | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2013 | 3.9 | 0.13 | 0.21 | nil |
| 2014*** | 5.5 | -2.83 | -4.41 | nil |
| 2015 | 7.4 | -3.40 | -4.76 | nil |
| 2016 | 10.2 | -1.44 | -1.49 | nil |
| 2017 | 15.5 | 0.23 | 0.37 | nil |
| % change | +52 | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £17.6m, or 11p a share**Excludes clients' funds***FairFX listed on Aim in Aug 2014 | ||||
