PayPoint announces delay to release of full-year results but reaffirms outlook

Payment services business PayPoint has postponed the publication of its annual results just one day before they were due to be released.

It said auditors at KPMG had been unable to finish the required work because of a ‘technical accounting treatment’ concerning the balance sheet of Appreciate Group at acquisition and year-end.

Consequently, PayPoint plans to declare its full-year results once employees at the  accounting firm complete their review.

The firm provides over-the-counter payment facilities at more than 28,000 retail stores in the UK, many of them supermarkets or newsagents, where customers can pay energy bills or top up their mobile phones. 

It upheld its guidance for net revenue, excluding Appreciate Group, of about £125million for the year ending March 2023, thanks to solid growth among all three trading divisions.

Alongside this, it expects pre-tax profits will be towards the high end of market forecasts due to ‘strong momentum.’

For the previous year, the firm saw net revenues from continuing operations rise by 18.5 per cent, following a bumper performance from its Handepay and Merchant Rentals card payments units.

Trading received a further uplift from the expansion of its PayPoint One platform, Snappy Shopper partnership and Counter Cash service to more sites. 

PayPoint provides over-the-counter payment facilities at more than 28,000 retail stores in the UK, many of them supermarkets or newsagents, where customers can pay energy bills or top up their mobile phones.

PayPoint bought Merseyside-based Appreciate in February for £83million in order to enhance its reach in the prepayment savings market and the UK gift card and voucher sectors.

Formerly known as Park Group and founded in Birkenhead, Appreciate owned the highstreetvouchers.com and Love2shop brands, whose gift cards, vouchers and reward codes could be used by consumers at many prominent brands, including Asos, Argos and TK Maxx.

The company also reportedly operated the UK’s largest Christmas savings club, helping more than 350,000 customers budget for the festive season. 

For the 2022 financial year, the group recorded around £386million in billings, turnover of £123million and pre-tax profits totalling £8.4million. 

PayPoint shares were 0.4 per cent lower at 465p just before markets closed on Wednesday afternoon, meaning their value has contracted by around a fifth in the past 12 months.