Trading Statement

RNS Number : 2066K

St James House PLC

31 December 2020

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.

31 December 2020

ST. JAMES HOUSE PLC

  ("SJH", the "Group" or the "Company")

Trading Update

The Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") is pleased to provide the following trading statement and update on recent developments.

Trading Update

Payment Services

The period 27 November to 23 December 2020 has seen steady performance in the payments division, with GBP:USD FX pair transactions growing 43% in volume, however the company did see a slowdown in incoming EUR deposits of around 18%.  Overall, the number of active multicurrency accounts grew by 5% over the past 25 days, and the Company expects the take up rate to increase significantly in the New Year supported by sales and marketing activities.

There has been a 10% increase in the numbers of cards in circulation, while average transaction values per card for the period was £219, down from the previous monthly average spend per card of £340.  Spending levels per card have been volatile over 2H2020, which the Management Team believes is related to the fluctuating Covid lockdown measures.  Overall however, the Payment Services business has proved resilient to the implications of Covid containment measures to date, and similarly, the proposed post-Brexit trade deal is not expected to have any material impact on the business.

The Merchant Services Group has started prospecting for new clients focusing on opportunities provided via partners and referral agents in order to expand its reach in order to improve success rates in the current challenging climate.  

Lottery Services

As anticipated, Prize Provision Services Limited ("PPS") is pleased to be able to report a small rise in the number of weekly entries into the lotteries it administers over the final quarter of the year. Despite the impact of COVID-19, overall entries will finish the year only slightly below the number at the end of 2019 and well in excess of 2018.

The stability of these numbers throughout the year, despite this year's pandemic, is testament to the robust nature of lottery fundraising, a characteristic that is becoming increasingly to societies who are looking to create reliable revenue streams.

PPS has now begun sales operations in the North West from the Group's Liverpool office, and it is hoped new clients will begin to be recruited early in the new year.  Neither the increased Covid restrictions nor the Brexit changes are expected to materially affect these increased sales efforts.

Legal Services

St Frances House Ltd ("St Frances") continues to build its pipeline and has seen an increase in current active cases of 78 giving a total of 260 cases live as of 23 December 2020 with a gross work in progress value of £1.1m.  Cases will continue to be added at a rate of 10-15 per week after the seasonal break. As cases begin to settle and revenue is realised the Company will give a detailed update at the end of St Frances' first full quarter as cases settle and the timescale of claim to settlement becomes clearer.

Group

The Company and its auditors continue to work on the preparation of its audited annual report and accounts for the year to 31 January 2020 (the "Annual Report"), however it has not proved possible to complete everything as had been hoped, and this is now expected to be completed in January .   The Company's unaudited half-year financial results for the six months to 31 July 2020 will also not be published until the Annual Report is published.  As a result, the Company's ordinary shares of 1 pence each will continue to be suspended from trading on AIM until these financial results are published.

Graeme Paton, Chief Executive, commented, "The Company has managed to maintain performance or grow across all divisions, which given the circumstances with the uncertainty caused by ever changing travel and trading restrictions, the lack of clarity around Brexit causing massive distractions for customers and the usual seasonal break, is a performance that is testament to the dedication and hard work of our people."

For further information, contact:

St. James House PLC Roger Matthews Website www.sjhplc.com	020 3655 5000
Allenby Capital Limited (Nomad, Financial Adviser & Broker) John Depasquale / Nick Harriss	020 3328 5656

 

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