Shares in payment specialist SafeCharge (SCH) tumbled 7 per cent on Thursday on its trading update for the sixth months to June. Despite a good performance from the SafeCharge Acquiring platform, the company said it is taking "slightly longer" than it expected to harness revenue growth from 'tier one' clients. These are the larger, high-quality businesses for which SafeCharge provides tailor-made payment solutions.
Many investors will have bought SafeCharge’s shares for their healthy dividend yield - the company has previously paid out three-quarters of adjusted cash profits as dividends. Management is likely to maintain a generous dividend, despite a weaker anticipated top line.
Analysts at Shore Capital reduced their revenue expectations by 3 per cent to $112m for FY2017, and adjusted EPS by 4 per cent to 19¢ (2016: 20.7¢) reflecting pressure on SafeCharge’s organic growth rate as it integrates new clients.
