Fonix Mobile ends year 'comfortably in line' with forecasts

The AIM-traded firm said the total payment volume of mobile payments in the year ended 30 June grew by 10% to £233.4m, while gross profit advanced 13% to £11.3m.

Adjusted EBITDA was up 14% year-on-year, at £8.8m.

Fonix said it was continuing to generate “strong” underlying cash flows, and intended to pay a final dividend for the year in November, in line with its policy.

On the operational front, the company said it has continued to attract new customers in all sectors, with more than 100 active customers by year-end, making for an increase of 13% over the previous year.

It maintained 100% client retention, with more than 99% of its income of a repeating nature.

During the year, Fonix established its first overseas operator connections, with customer services now integrated and pending launch in Austria.

The business was also in “advanced discussions” to launch services in one additional European territory in the coming months.

In the UK, Fonix said it was still supporting key charities with fundraising from public donations, adding that the number of active charity clients had grown “significantly” in the year.

Its three business segments of payments, messaging and managed services had each grown in the period, in line with expectations, with the business retaining a “robust” pipeline of prospects going into the next financial year.

Looking ahead, Fonix said that with high levels of repeating revenue, a strong exit run-rate for the 2021 financial year, new supplier connections in international markets, and a growing pipeline of client prospects across all sectors, it was confident in the company’s growth potential going into the 2022 period and beyond.

“We're hugely proud of our progress over the last year, managing the business through a global pandemic, all whilst making the transition to becoming a public company and continuing to achieve record levels of profitability,” said chief executive officer Rob Weisz.

“All our business segments have grown strongly throughout the year and comfortably in line with expectations.

“The business has seen significant growth across the media, charity and gaming sectors, with those services not being materially impacted by the pandemic.”

Weisz said the company was continuing to develop products and features which would deliver growth and expansion in those areas.

“In addition, we've laid some solid foundations for international expansion this year and we expect international markets to start making a significant contribution to growth in the coming years.”

Fonix said it would report its audited final results for the year ended 30 June on 23 September.

At 1501 BST, shares in Fonix Mobile were down 4.12% at 123.2p.