Record number of transactions at Paypoint

Paypoint, the electronic payments business, reported forecast-beating revenues after seeing a record number of transactions being put through its in-store terminals.

Paypoint provides terminals to 23,500 retailers through which customers can pay their utility, mobile and housing association bills. By offering the facility in store, the retailer hopes to drive footfall.

In the 12 months to March 25th Paypoint reported revenue of £200m, 3.5% ahead of the prior year and better than the consensus forecast of £198.7m. Profits before tax were £37.2m, 8% up on 2010/2011 but just short of the market expectation of £37.5m.

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Paypoint says its Romanian operation saw 19m transactions and generated profit for the first time, while a project with the UK Department for Work and Pensions to create a simple payment process to replace cheques is also expected to "fuel future growth".

The full year dividend will be 26.5p per share, up 13.2% on the previous year and ahead of market expectations of 26.2p. Earnings per share growth also beat expectations, coming in at 13.4% against forecasts of 11%. The actual earnings per share figure was 39.8p.

The company is identifying growth in its new parcel collection and online payments business while investing in a significant "near field" electronic payments system in San Francisco.

Commenting on the results Paypoint's Chief Executive, David Newlands said: "For the current financial year, trading is in line with the company's expectations.

"Our established business (UK and Irish retail networks and internet payments) is strong, with further opportunities to enhance retail yield through the introduction of new technology and services."

BS