Trading Update

RNS Number : 8745T

Eckoh PLC

18 October 2017

 

18 October 2017

Eckoh plc

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

Trading Update

Eckoh plc (AIM: ECK), the global provider of secure payment products and customer contact solutions, today issues a trading update for the six months ended 30 September 2017.

The Board is pleased to announce that trading in the period was in line with expectations, again showing double-digit percentage growth in both revenue and gross profit as the Group continues to deliver on its strategy with increasing momentum.

UK trading continues to be solid with a similar revenue performance to H117 and a strong pipeline of deals in the second half.

In the US, following on from the success of securing the largest ever payment contract win in March 2017,  the Company has won seven new Secure Payments contracts during the period with a total value of $5.1m. The largest of these, worth $1.6m, was won against the Group's main competitor and pleasingly, all were contracted on the preferred 'Opex' pricing model that the Company moved to in mid-2016, which will see recurring revenue levels increase over future periods.  The number of payments contracts won in the US since Eckoh entered the market in 2014 is now 30. The Company has made good progress in converting its contracts pipeline, having already secured the same volume of Opex-based contracts as were won during the full 12 month period ending 31 March 2017.

	US Client Wins	US Contract Value	Capex1	Opex2
H1 17	3	$2.7m	1	2
H1 18	7	$5.1m	0	7

The Group's balance sheet remains strong with net cash of £1.7m at H1 18 (H1 17: net debt of (£2.1m)).

The Group will report its results for the six months ended 30 September 2017 on Wednesday, 22 November 2017.

1. Capex - typically, outright purchase of hardware with 15-20% pa on-going maintenance and support charge

2. Opex - typically, small set-up fee of 10-20% of contract value and 80-90% of contract value as recurring revenues over the life of the contract

For further information please contact:

Eckoh plc
Nik Philpot, Chief Executive Officer	Tel: [phone]
Chrissie Herbert, Chief Financial Officer
www.eckoh.com
FTI Consulting LLP	Tel: [phone]
Ed Bridges / Chris Lane / Emma Hall / Darius Alexander
[e-mail]
N+1 Singer (Nomad & Joint Broker)
Shaun Dobson, Lauren Kettle	Tel: [phone]
www.n1singer.com
Berenberg (Joint Broker)
Ben Wright, Chris Bowman, Amritha Murali	Tel: [phone]
www.berenberg.de/en

About Eckoh plc

Eckoh is a global provider of secure payment products and customer contact solutions, supporting an international client base from its offices in the UK and US. 

Our secure payments products, which include the patented CallGuard, can be hosted in the Cloud or deployed on the client's site and remove sensitive personal and payment data from contact centres and IT environments. The products offer merchants a simple and effective way to reduce the risk of fraud, secure sensitive data and become compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards ("PCI DSS") and wider data security regulations. Eckoh has been a PCI DSS Level One accredited Service Provider since 2010, processing over $1bn in card payments annually.

Eckoh's customer contact solutions enable enquiries and transactions to be performed on whatever device the customer chooses, allowing organisations to increase efficiency, lower operational costs and provide a true Omni-channel experience. We also assist organisations in transforming the way that they engage with their customers by providing support and transition services as they implement our innovative customer contact solutions.

Our large portfolio of clients come from a broad range of vertical markets and includes government departments, telecoms providers, retailers, utility providers and financial services organisations. More information at www.eckoh.com.

 

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