FairFX swings to profit as aggressive expansion plans continue

Electronic banking and international payments group FairFX issued its audited full-year results for the year ended 31 December on Monday, reporting group turnover of more than £1.1bn - an increase of 41%.

The AIM-traded firm said group revenue stood at £15.5m, rising 52%, or 33% on a like-for-like basis.

Gross profit grew 60% to £11.9 million, or 39.1% on a like-for-like basis, while the company swung to adjusted EBITDA of £1m, from a loss £1.5m in 2016.

Adjusted profit before tax stood at £0.9m at year-end, compared to a loss before tax of £1.6m in 2016.

On the operational front, the FairFX board called it a “milestone year of development”, with substantial growth in scale and diversification of operations.

A total of 73,237 new customers were added to the business during the year, taking the total to 728,985, while the acquisition of Q Money in January provided the firm with an e-money licence to diversify its business.

An oversubscribed fund-raise of £26m, net of expenses, was completed to acquire the digital banking provider CardOne Banking.

Additionally, FairFX was granted full MasterCard membership, providing the company with a path to simplify its supply chain.

Looking at current trading, FairFX said group turnover in the first quarter of 2018 was up 125.9% to £439.5m, or 31.6% on a like-for-like basis, while group revenue rose 85.3% to £4.8m, or 18.7% on a like-for-like basis.

The company acquired the international payments business City Forex for £6m since year-end, and began the self-issuance of MasterCard branded cards.

An agreement was also struck with Alternative Business Funding, to provide FairFX business customers access to lending.

“2017 has been a ground-breaking year for the group in terms of growth and expansion of operations,” said chief executive Ian Strafford-Taylor.

“The group has reported its maiden full year profit as a public company and completed over £1bn of transaction volume for the first time.”

Strafford-Taylor said the strategic acquisitions of Q Money and CardOne Banking had been “key” to evolving the business and enabling FairFX to move further into the digital banking sector.

“2018 will see the group continue to develop new products, with a particular focus on the SME banking space, and cross sell its existing services.

“The group has enjoyed a good start to 2018 to date and has also completed the acquisition of the international payment business and supply chain partner, City Forex, which fits with our strategy to both scale the business and increase control over the supply chain to improve margins.

“In addition, the group has a pipeline of development for 2018 to further boost revenue and operational efficiency and consequently, the board is confident that the outlook for the full year remains in line with market expectations.”