24th Sep 2018 11:52
LONDON (Alliance News) - Lender GLI Finance Ltd said Monday it narrowed its loss in the first half of 2018, due to higher revenue and a smaller loss on the fair value movement of FinTech Ventures, which represents GLI Finance's investments in lending platforms.
The company reported a pretax loss of GBP9.1 million for the six months to the end of June, narrowed from a loss of GBP15.1 million a year before.
The narrowed loss was caused by a negative fair value movement in FinTech Ventures of GBP8.3 million, compared to a negative movement of GBP12.2 million in the prior year.
The FinTech Ventures portfolio was valued at GBP23.9 million on June 30, down from GBP29.6 million at the end of December. GLI Finance's group net asset value, meanwhile, slid to GBP64.1 million from GBP74.8 million during the same period.
In the half-year, GLI Finance also recorded a foreign exchange gain of GBP429,000, compared to a loss of GBP885,000 a year before.
Additionally, revenue grew to GBP7.2 million from GBP5.7 million. This was the results of higher fee income across GL Finance's Sancus entities and GBP649,000 in interest income from Sancus Loans Ltd, versus none a year before. Sancus is GLI Finance's property backed and small-enterprise lending businesses.
"The group has seen good progress during the first half of 2018, improving revenue, successfully securing a new funding line and reducing costs across the business. We are pleased that Sancus BMS, the key operating unit within the group, has delivered some strong results during the six-month period. The lending businesses that comprise Sancus BMS are strong, well managed, and have the ability to deliver a very attractive return on capital," said Chief Executive Officer Andy Whelan.
"We are very disappointed to have had to take a further material write down on the FinTech Ventures portfolio. Whilst FinTech as a sector continues to grow strongly, increased competition is making it increasingly difficult for smaller players, particularly those that are loss making, to raise further equity," Whelan added.
Shares in GLI Finance were up 2.5% at 8.71 pence on Monday.
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