AGM Statement

RNS Number : 6872L

Equals Group PLC

17 May 2022

 

For immediate release

17 May 2022

Equals Group plc

('Equals' or the 'Company')

AGM Statement

Equals (AIM:EQLS), a leading fintech payments group focused on the SME marketplace, announces that at its Annual General Meeting ("AGM") to be held at 8:30am today, Alan Hughes, Chairman, will make the following statement:

"We are delighted to report that the significant growth in revenue across the Group, as reported in our FY-2021 in March, has continued. Total Group revenue in the 91 business days to 15 May 2022 (the 'Period') was £22.0 million, an average of £241k per working day.  This was an increase of 86% in the daily average in the same period in FY-2021, £129k per day (£11.9 million).

Total Group revenue was split as follows, core International Payments representing 33%, the Solutions Platform 18%, Equals Connect 23%; Cards (including, personal and business) 16%, and Banking 10%. Given this current business mix, the gross profit margin for the Group is trending in line with management expectations at just under 50%.

As announced in the FY-2021 results, the Group has increased its on-payroll headcount to around 265 at the end of the Period from 255 in December 2021. This has allowed an acceleration of customer-facing systems development which is expected to drive further revenue growth.

We continue to target talent and are delighted to announce the appointment of Tom Kiddle to join our executive committee as Chief Commercial Officer. Tom, who previously worked as UK General Manager for the international payments group, WorldFirst, will start on 1 July 2022 and will be responsible for sales, marketing, and growth teams within the Group.

Also, as announced at the time of the FY-2021 results on 30 March 2022, the Group continues to invest in its customer on-boarding processes to make it easier to become a customer of Equals whilst not compromising on compliance. This will add modest costs going forward but the Board believes that such tools are critical to support further revenue growth for the Group.

We continue to monitor global macro-economic issues which increase uncertainty, but we have confidence that our revenue performance, offset with our investments in revenue-facing functions, will lead to Adjusted EBITDA being ahead of market expectations for FY-2022."

This announcement contains inside information.

- Ends -

For more information, please contact:

Equals Group plc
Ian Strafford-Taylor, CEO Richard Cooper, CFO	Tel: [phone] www.equalsplc.com
Canaccord Genuity (Nominated Advisor / Broker)
Max Hartley / Georgina McCooke Alex Aylen (Sales)	Tel: [phone]
Buchanan (Financial Communications)
Henry Harrison-Topham / Steph Whitmore / Toto Berger [e-mail]	Tel: [phone] www.buchanan.uk.com

Notes to Editors:

Equals Group is a technology-led international payments group augmented by highly personalised service for the payment needs of SMEs whether these be FX, card payments or via Faster Payments. Founded in 2007, the Group listed on AIM in 2014 and currently employs around 265 staff across sites in London and Chester.  For more information, please visit www.equalsplc.com .

 

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