Fintel FY EBITDA seen ‘marginally lower’ due to additional staff costs

Fintel warned on Tuesday that full-year earnings would likely be "marginally" lower than expected due to additional staff costs in the second half.

In results for the six months to the end of June, the company - which provides fintech and support services to the UK retail financial services sector - said adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 7% to £9.6m. Meanwhile, core revenue was up 13% to £31.2m.

Joint chief executive Matt Timmins said: "Fintel delivered a strong financial performance during the first half of 2024, whilst continuing to expand strategically through further acquisitions and organic investments.

"Completing four acquisitions year-to-date, totalling eight in the last twelve months, we have significantly enhanced our scale, capabilities and IP, whilst accelerating investment into our core propositions and technology offering.

"With our strategic foundations firmly in place, we are strongly positioned to capitalise on the growth opportunities across our extensive family of brands, underpinned by the strength of our balance sheet.

"Current trading is robust, and we are confident of meeting our full year revenue expectations, as we continue to inspire better outcomes for retail financial services."

However, Fintel, which owns SimplyBiz and Defaqto, also cautioned that additional staff costs in the second half will impact underlying EBITDA this year.

This relates partly to additional investment in Matrix 360 and Enterprise sales, as it works on realising revenue synergies from its acquired portfolio. It also relates to the initial realisation of future cost synergies across the business following the acquisitions.

"This will likely result in the underlying FY24 EBITDA being marginally lower than expectations although it is expected that these synergies will benefit FY25 and beyond," Fintel said.

At 1240 BST, the shares were down 6% at 294p.