Equals: Payments fintech doubles annual profit and eyes up further growth with deals

Payments fintech group Equals has more than doubled its annual profit on the back of rapid growth and international expansion, eyeing up further M&A opportunities in 2024.

The AIM-listed firm, which focuses on the SME market, posted a pretax profit of £9.1m in 2023, up from £3.4m the year before.

Its revenues increased 37 per cent to £95.7m, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) jumped 70 per cent to £20.6m,

On the back of the results, Equals has proposed a final dividend of 1p, bringing its total for the year to 1.5p. The 0.5p per share payment it made to shareholders in December, awarding £0.9m, was its maiden interim dividend.

Equals’ processed transaction volumes grew 35 per cent to £12.4bn last year, which it said reflected the “scalability” of its platform and operations. The firm saw increases across all of its payment channels, with transaction values for its Solutions Platform more than doubling to £4.4bn.

The group said it had completed three “strategically enhancing acquisitions” last year costing £6m.

Equals said it was continuing to assess M&A opportunities, including buying profitable businesses that can easily be added to its platform, value-added functionality and expanding its portfolio of regulatory licences for overseas expansion.

The firm also reported strong trading so far in 2024, with revenue reaching £31.9m as of 12 April, up 30 per cent from £24.5 million in the same period last year. It has been given a boost by a 74 per cent rise in revenue from its Solutions business to £13.2m.

Chief executive Ian Strafford-Taylor said: “The outlook for the business, as a result of our sustained and continuing investments combined with our excellent people, remains strong. In addition, the Group’s addressable market is now significantly greater with our expansion into Europe and increased distribution channels.”