10th Aug 2016 06:34
LONDON (Alliance News) - Payments services company Paysafe Group PLC on Wednesday said pretax profit and revenue rocketed higher in the first half of 2016 following its merger in the second half of 2015, but underlying growth also proved strong and it upgraded its full-year revenue guidance.
Paysafe was formerly called Optimal Payments and merged with rival payments provider Skrill in August 2015. It said pretax profit in the half-year to the end of June was USD74.6 million, compared to USD4.6 million a year earlier when the company was smaller and when it booked costs related to the reverse takeover of Skrill by Optimal Payments that effected the merger.
Revenue for the half-year more than doubled to USD486.7 million from USD223.0 million, though pro-forma constant currency revenue growth for the half was 20% year-on-year.
Paysafe said the integration of the Skrill business is now complete, and it remains on track to deliver the USD40.0 million in annual cost synergies promised when the deal was done.
In the first half, Paysafe said it increased its headcount and launched new partnership agreement, products and markets in the first half across its Payment Processing, Digital Wallets and Prepaid operations.
It said the positive momentum seen in the business continued into July, and it anticipates full-year revenue will be USD970 million to USD990 million, increased from guidance of USD960 million previously.
"I am delighted with the group's first-half results. We have again delivered very strong growth as our increasingly diversified payments business expands further across pay-before, pay-now and pay-later products and services," said Chief Executive Joel Leonoff.
"With the exceptional performance delivered in the first half, as well as continued strong trading in the early part of the second half, management and the board are confident in the group's prospects for the full year," he added.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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