30th Mar 2015 10:56
LONDON (Alliance News) - Billing Services Group Ltd Monday posted a pretax profit for 2014 on the back of better margins and the lack of a writedown that had hit its 2013 results, though revenue fell as it only partly made up a continued decline in landline services revenue with an increase in wireless services sales.
Billing Services said its pretax profit for 2014 was USD2.1 million, compared with a USD6.2 million loss last year. Its results in 2013 were hit by a USD8.8 million writedown it booked related to goodwill from an acquisition the company made in 2003. The company's gross margin also improved to 48% from 45.1% due to a favourable revenue mix from its landline business and a higher contribution from its wireless business.
The company, which provides clearing and financial settlement products, Wi-Fi data services and verification services, said revenue fell to USD42.4 million from USD53.9 million, hit by a secular decline in the volume of billable long distance and operator service calls made on landline phones.
It expects that pattern to continue in 2015, with some of the declines offset by higher revenue from its wireless services division.
"The 2014 results confirm BSG's strong cash flows, its participation in attractive wireless markets and its near debt-free status. Our thoughtful business plan, ably executed by management, is transitioning the company from a niche service provider for the US landline sector to an international service provider for landline and wireless market applications," said Chairman Pat Heneghan.
Still, shares in the company were down 12% to 2.75 pence on Monday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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