Market News

BY  Chris Dorrel

CAB Payments reported a “resilient” performance in the first half of the financial year as it attempts to move on from a difficult year.

In a trading update covering the six months to June, the payments firm reported that gross income was down 22 per cent on last year, falling to £56m from £72m previously.

Part of this was due to “previously identified dislocations” in the Nigerian Naira as well as the impact of central bank interventions on the Central African Franc and the West African Franc.

Without these, CAB Payments reported that underlying gross income rose 11 per cent.

Although market-wide payment flows were down around five per cent year-on-year in Sub-Saharan Africa, CAB Payments’ volumes were up four per cent to £17.6bn.

It also reported a more diversified income stream, with its top five currency corridors accounting for 32 per cent of gross income in the first half against 49 per cent last year.

“Our first-half performance was resilient, despite lacking tailwinds from the Nigerian Naira, while also continuing to suffer from the headwinds in XAF and XOF from the end of last year,” Neeraj Kapur, chief executive of CAB Payments said.

Looking to the year ahead, CAB Payments said it was on a “more balanced trajectory” after 2023, which was an “exceptional year”. It also cautioned that there are “no significant tailwinds in its major corridors”.

It expects gross income to be “marginally down” compared to last year, although there will be double-digit growth in its underlying transactions business.

“Our fundamental business model is robust, and I firmly believe in our purpose and the global market demand for our services,” Kapur said.

The Sutton-based firm floated on the London Stock Exchange last year amid much fanfare, but its shares have fallen by around two thirds after it issued a profit warning just months after its IPO.

CAB Payments blamed “unforeseen central bank interventions” for forcing up costs and reducing trading volume in some of its core markets.

Former boss, Bhairav Trivedi, who led CAB Payments through its IPO, stepped down on the publication of its last round of results in March.