Mi-Pay Group's loss narrows after revenue growth and cost cutting

Mi-Pay Group reported revenue growth and a narrowed operating loss on Wednesday after the company increased the value of processed payment transactions and won new revenues from fraud management.

For the year ended 31 December, the mobile payment technology provider's total revenue was expected to come in at £3.3m, up from £3.0m for the year before, after an increase in payment transaction values processed to £106m from £94m, while operating losses were set to narrow from £0.6m to £0.2m as administrative expenses were reduced.

A statement from Mi-Pay added that, during the six-month period to 31 December, the company delivered a profit before interest, tax and depreciation.

Michael Dickerson, chairman of Mi-Pay, said: "Delivering underlying profitability in the second half of 2018 was a key target for Mi-Pay and we are pleased to have achieved this important milestone. The improved performance seen in H2 2018 was a result of delivering a new revenue channel for payment fraud management through the leverage of our in-house technology, a continuing reduction of our operating cost base and strong growth across our existing clients."

£43m of payment transactions for fraudulent activity were successfully indemnified over the period using the company's proprietary payment fraud solution, resulting in new revenue of £0.3m.

The AIM traded company's cash position at 31 December stood at £3.5m, up from £2.9m at the same point the year before, with £2.9m of this balance related to the management of client payments.

"We expect to see this growth continue as the e-commerce and digital channels increasingly become our clients' core strategic focus for customer engagement and our new fraud management services continue to expand," said Dickerson.

Mi-Pay's shares were unchanged at 9.70p at 1159 GMT.