Boku upbeat on strong first-half growth

Mobile payments specialist Boku reported a 26% improvement in first-half revenues on Tuesday, to $38.2m.

The AIM-traded firm said that there was a 32% revenue increase at constant currency, which was primarily fuelled by heightened transaction volumes courtesy of the company's prominent global merchants.

A notable chunk of the revenue, $7.2m, originated from local payment methods (LPMs) - a whopping 350% surge on the year.

The growth spurt was attributed to introducing 15 new LPMs and the subsequent rise in their adoption by Boku's primary merchants.

As for adjusted EBITDA, there was a healthy 28% hike to $12.2m for the six months ended 30 June, attributed to a focus on cost control while channelling investments into fortifying Boku's mobile-centric payment network.

Boku recorded an after-tax profit of $2.3m - a sharp decrease from $28.0m a year earlier, which was bolstered by the $24.6m profit accrued from selling off Boku's identity division.

Regarding liquidity, Boku reported firm cash reserves of $113.9m as of 30 June, up from the $67.8m recorded a year earlier.

Breaking that down, around $54.4m represented Boku's independent cash reserves, while the remainder was primarily merchant cash in transit.

Boku confirmed that it remained debt-free.

The company's average daily cash balance for June stood at $105.8m - a rise from June’s $63.3m.

After the end of the period, Boku secured a 'holdback' payment valued at $5.6m from Twilio, settling the final amount on the sale of its identity business in February last year.

“I am delighted with Boku's performance in the first half, and that strong performance has continued in the second half,” said chief executive officer Jon Prideaux.

“All parts of the business are performing well and ahead of our internal budget at the time of the capital markets day earlier this year.

“The triple-digit growth from wallets and account-to-account payments now means that these newer payment methods have come from next to nothing this time last year to account for nearly 20% of our revenue.”

Prideaux noted that the company traded at record levels in July and August, adding that it was “undeniable” that its strategy was working well.

“As I prepare to move from an executive to a non-executive position, I have strong conviction that the company will continue on this growth path under Stuart's leadership.

“With more merchants poised to adopt the newer payment methods and strong momentum from existing live connections, the full year picture is looking very healthy.

“As a result of the strong trading conditions we are seeing, the board now expects the company's performance for the full year to be slightly ahead of its previous expectations, and we reiterate the medium-term guidance communicated at the capital markets day.”

At 1611 BST, shares in Boku were up 1.28% at 145.1p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.