FairFX posts first full year profits
First full-year profits for FairFX
FairFX, a UK-based banking and international payments group, has posted profits for the first time in its full year results (the year ending 31 December 2017).
Ian Strafford-Taylor, CEO of FairFX, describes the year as “ground-breaking” for the company in terms of growth and expansion of operations.
“The group has reported its maiden full year profit as a public company and completed over £1 billion of transaction volume for the first time,” he says.
“The strategic acquisitions of Q Money and CardOne Banking have been key to evolving the business and enabling FairFX to move further into the digital banking sector.”
For its 2017 financial results, FairFX highlights the following financial stats:
- turnover in excess of £1.1 billion (£0.8 billion in 2016);
- revenue of £15.5 million (£10.2 million in 2016);
- gross profit of £11.9 million;
- adjusted EBITDA of £1.0 million (2016: loss £1.5 million);
- adjusted PBT of £0.9 million (2016: loss £1.6 million).
Operational highlights:
- 73,237 new customers added to the business bringing the total to 728,985;
- acquisition of Q Money in January 2017 provided FairFX with e-money licence to diversify business;
- oversubscribed fundraise of £26 million to acquire digital banking provider, CardOne Banking.
- full Mastercard Membership granted.
This year, FairFX will be focusing on the SME banking sector and cross-selling its existing services, Strafford-Taylor says. The company “has enjoyed a good start to 2018 to date”, including the completion of another acquisition, City Forex, which specialises in supply chain and cross-border payments. City Forex came with a price tag of £6 million.
FairFX has also inked an agreement with Alternative Business Funding, a UK-based SMEs lender, to provide FairFX business customers access to lending; and commenced self-issuance of Mastercard branded cards.
In Q1 2018, the company recorded the turnover of £439.5 million (a 31.6% increase compared to Q1 2017 on a like for like basis) and the revenue of £4.8 million (up 18.7%).
FairFX is a challenger brand in banking and payments “that disintermediates the incumbent banks with a superior user experience and low-cost operating model”. Its platform facilitates payments either direct to bank accounts or at 32 million merchants and over one million ATMs internationally.
It provides services to consumers and businesses through four channels: currency cards, physical currency, international payments and bank accounts. It was founded in 2007.
Want to know more about UK’s challenger banks? You can find our comprehensive (and free) list here.
