Vipera narrows first half loss as revenues rise

Vipera, a specialist provider of mobile financial services, narrowed its first half loss as revenues jumped 43%.

Group revenue rose from €2.63m in 2015 to €3.78m this year. The firm recorded an operating loss of €0.40m compared to €0.50m loss last year as operating costs rose 33% to €4.2m. The loss before tax fell to £412,374 from £525,376.

Loss per ordinary share was 0.16p compared to a 0.25p loss in 2015.

Analyst Lorne Daniel at Finncap said: “Vipera is in rapid growth stage: revenues are growing at an exceptional rate but development costs – expensed and capitalised – remain heavy, so it is still loss making.”

Net cash at the period end was €2.44m compared to €3.23m in the previous year.

However, Daniel feels the company will continue to grow in 2017. “We continue to expect the business to turn profitable during 2017 as development slows and the rollout of its leading edge mobile banking solutions accelerates in both the Middle East and Europe, and with the share price recovering from a stock overhang, we reiterate our 6p target price."

The company released a mobile banking application for UAE banking group Mashreq, launched its first installation of a new retail solution for a major European retailer and formed a marketing partnership with ExperienceLab - Serco’s user experience design agency - during the period. According to the board, there are more initiatives being developed for later in the year.

Chief executive Marco Casartelli said: "We are encouraged by the appetite for our solutions by the financial services and banking industry, through a period of great uncertainty and look forward to progressing our growth further throughout the rest of 2016.”

The board does not feel that Brexit has had an immediate impact on operations, but the depreciation of the pound has had an affect on the balance sheet. The board also feels the demand for fintech solutions remains strong despite publicised conditions for European banks.

Chairman Luciano Martucci said: “Looking ahead to the rest of the year, the financial result will, as noted in past years, be significantly dependent on the timing of transactions and in particular, the speed of customer decision-making. However, our expectation is that group revenues will show an increase over the previous year, continuing our track record of revenue growth for a seventh successive year.”

Shares fell 7.37% to 4.40p at 1136 BST on Monday.