2018 – Half Year Results
Today we announce our half year results
We’re pleased with the progress we’ve made this year. Here are some of our highlights from the results.
In the first six months of 2018 revenue has increased by 18% on a constant currency basis. This is compared with the same period in 2017 thanks to strong performance in overseas markets, especially India and Turkey. The growth in revenue has allowed us to pursue significant market expansion, investing in new UK business and entering Bangladesh for the first time.
The first half of 2018 has also seen our worldwide customer numbers increase by 23% to 6.7 million, up from 5.5 million in December 2017. Revenue has increased to £51.3 million, up from £45.3 million in the first half of 2017, including 36% growth from Ongoing Operations (£40.0 million up from £31.1 million in the same period). Our operation in India increased revenue by 60%, from £19.2 million to £28.3 million.
Alongside the revenue growth and expansion into new territories, we have initiated a restructuring project to further develop our EU hub in Madrid with responsibility for customer service operations in Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain. To further enhance our in-house capabilities, we recently announced an investment in Globiva Services Private Limited, a business process management company based in India.
Our underlying operating profit reduced from £1.8 million in the first half of 2017 to £1.4 million in 2018 following investment in business growth projects, however the underlying profit margin, before investment costs of £1.2 million, has increased from 4% to 5%. Earlier this year we announced the acquisition of Valeos, a specialist consultancy providing value-added services and products to companies in the insurance sector as well as an investment in KYND, a cyber security start up. These deals are part of our strategy to rapidly expand the Group’s international product portfolio by offering innovative and high-tech solutions primarily across financial services sectors.
You can find our results over on our Investor relations page.
Jason Walsh, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“The revenue growth that we saw in 2017 and which has continued in the first half of 2018 has laid the foundation for further growth. We have continued to invest in expanding our product and service capability, whilst the restructuring activities that we have commenced in our EU markets demonstrate the importance we place on operating efficiently and managing our cost base.
We are delivering against our strategic plan and expect to continue this good progress.”