Competition for Paypal? This Fintech IPO Resists Coronavirus
By Marko Vidrih on The Capital
Large parts of the economy are suffering from the corona crisis, which is currently paralyzing public life and forcing many companies to close shops, shutdown production and register short-time work. But companies from certain industries could benefit from current developments.
Nowadays, more and more is handled digitally. So digital payment platforms such as PayPal have also gained in importance in recent years. People appreciate the convenience of sending money safely and comfortably from home to family members, friends, colleagues or businesses. But there are still areas in which this business model has not really penetrated. But a company that only ventured onto the trading floor last year is doing just that.
REPAY — competition for PayPal?
Like PayPal, REPAY Holdings is a digital payment platform. However, the company has so far dealt specifically with areas in which digital payment transactions have not yet, or not yet, fully begun, such as car loans and mortgages, healthcare or business-to-business transactions. In these areas, as The Motley Fool reports, CEO John Morris and CFO Tim Murphy continue to rely on old payment systems. The same applies to the B2B market, where trillions of dollars change hands each year.
The successful year 2019
REPAY is very satisfied with last year after the fourth quarter and full-year figures have been announced.
“2019 was a milestone for REPAY. We completed our business combination with Thunder Bridge, which resulted in REPAY becoming a listed company. We also announced two strategic acquisitions — TriSource Solutions, which will expand our back-end capabilities and APS Payments, with which we entered the B2B industry and increased our overall addressable market by more than a trillion dollars,“ said REPAY CEO John Morris.
Including the effects of the acquisitions mentioned, the company saw growth in card payment volume of 44 percent to 10 over the previous year. Gross profit increased by 43 percent to $78.7 million, 29 percent of which REPAY achieved organically — i.e. under its own steam.
Positive outlook for 2020
REPAY boss Morris is also optimistic about this year. The new situation, caused by the coronavirus, in which many people stay at home and work from there, could help to further advance the area of digital payments.
“2020 will be another great year for the company. With Ventanex, which offers us significant growth opportunities in the mortgage and B2B healthcare sectors, we now have a total planned payment volume of $2.3 trillion annually. Our leading platform, paired with this attractive market opportunity, positions us well for robust growth and profitability,“ said Morris.
REPAY is expecting card payments of $15.5 to $16 billion this year, The Motley Fool reports. In 2020, the company expects $155 to $165 million in revenue. And gross profit is also expected to increase another 50 percent to $115 to $120 million. For adjusted EBITDA, REPAY is forecasting $66 to $70 million for the current year, an increase of 42 percent.
The REPAY share has grown strongly since going public in the summer of 2019. In February, it rose to $19.58 — which is also the current 52-week high. In March there was a clear slump, but currently it seems as if the paper is on a recovery course again: Since an interim low of $11.35 a few days ago, REPAY’s share price recently reached $15.26 today.
Author: Marko Vidrih
Featured image credit: Pixabay
