IPPlus swings to interim profit

AIM-listed call centre service provider IPPlus said on Monday that it swung to an interim pre-tax profit and expects to report a good second half.

For the six months ended 31 December, pre-tax profit came in at £130,385 compared with a loss of £116,917 in the first half of 2014, as revenue rose to £4.1m from £3.4m.

The company said the jump in revenue reflected improved trading in its Ansaback telephony service, which won a substantial contract, and the group’s PCI-PAL product.

Ansaback revenues rose 29% in the period, while PCI-PAL – which allows companies to take credit and debit card payments securely over the phone – saw revenues surge 80% compared with the prior period.

Non-executive chairman Chris Fielding said: "Despite macroeconomic conditions remaining volatile, with the EU referendum set to cause turbulence and disruption, the board is pleased with the turn around and is confident that the group's long term strategy is appropriate.

“IPPlus has a solid quality client base within Ansaback and we are confident that PCI-PAL will provide exciting growth prospects in the 'Fintech' (Financial Technology) space.”

At 1215 GMT, IPPlus shares were up 5.1% to 15.50p.