Accesso Technology trades better than expected despite lower revenues

Technology solutions provider Accesso said on Wednesday that recent trading had been better than expected after more venues using its products reopened following Covid-19 lockdowns.

Accesso said first-half revenues more than halved to $24.6m as forced closures beginning in March weighed on its performance. However, the AIM-listed group highlighted that this figure was still ahead of earlier projections.

Transaction revenue, which was severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, fell 66.7% to £12.1m, while ticketing and distribution revenues dropped 53% to $16.8m and guest experience revenues nearly halved to $7.8m.

Accesso also swung to an underlying loss of $7.4m, a marked turnaround from the EBITDA of $11.4m recorded a year earlier, while pre-tax losses came to $18.47m - a 298% widening year-on-year.

Looking ahead, Accesso said almost 80% of passport and 60% of LoQueue customer venues had reopened, and also highlighted that it had won multiple new contracts in the ski sector ahead of the winter season.

Chief executive Steve Brown said: "During the first half of 2020 we have been successful in managing Accesso through the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and preparing the business to navigate through further uncertainty.

“While the pandemic does continue to impact our end-markets, we are now seeing a significant number of operators reopening their doors at reduced capacity."

As of 1050 BST, Accesso shares were up 9.47% at 312.0p.