WAG Payment Solutions PLC on Thursday posted mixed financial results for the first half with greater expenses hampering the bottom line despite strong revenue growth.
The London-based company, known as Eurowag, operates a payment and mobility platform across Europe for the commercial road transport industry.
Pretax profit fell 50% to €4.2 million in the first half that ended June 30 from €8.5 million the previous year.
Revenue from contracts with customers rose 13% to €1.15 billion from €1.02 billion, as cost of sales increased 12% to €1.01 billion from €898.5 million.
Payment solutions revenue grew 12% to €1.09 billion while Mobility solutions revenue rose 31% to €61.3 million.
Impairment loss increased 87% to €7.8 million; technology expenses increased 15% to €9.9 million; other operating expenses increased 6.2% to €28.0 million; depreciation and amortisation increased 27% to €32.7 million.
Chief Executive Officer Martin Vohanka said: ‘The first half of 2024 has been a dynamic period for the European CRT industry, marked by regulatory changes, persisting macroeconomic volatility, including fluctuating fuel prices, and a continued shift towards digitalisation. We have remained focused on our strategic priorities, with significant progress made in each area, as we prepare for the phased rollout of our digital platform in Q4 2024.’
The new digital platform unifies all Eurowag brands and services into a single data ecosystem, providing a one-stop-shop to deliver increased growth and efficiencies for customers.
‘Eurowag continues to see pressures in the CRT industry, impacting loads and kilometres driven which places higher pressures on the financial stability of smaller businesses, evidenced by a higher rate of insolvencies across some of our markets.
‘Looking ahead, we are starting to see some signs of economic recovery with the load spot market improving, which will benefit small to medium size trucking companies with increased revenues and cash flows. These early indications in the load spot market gives us confidence in delivering in-line with near-term expectations,’ Eurowag said.
The company is aiming to achieve mid-teen revenue growth in the near and medium term with adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation margin growth anticipated over the medium term.
WAG Payment shares were up 2.2% at 74.58 pence each in London on Thursday morning.
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