Yahoo Finance

“This has been another positive year for the PayPoint Group as we continue to build on transforming the business to deliver a significantly enhanced platform to drive strong shareholder returns. We opened up further growth opportunities across the business and delivered a broader range of innovative services and technology connecting millions of consumers with an expanded base of over 60,000 retailer partners and SME locations across multiple sectors.

“We have registered a strong financial performance for the year against the backdrop of growing macroeconomic uncertainty, disruption in energy markets and an acceleration of cost pressures. In response, we have been relentlessly focused on operational excellence and the rapid delivery of our strategic priorities.

“Our new Counter Cash solution is now live in over 2,624 sites, providing vital access to cash in communities across the UK; the home delivery partnership with Snappy Shopper continues to grow with 269 sites live and positive sales growth; and we’ve continued to improve our engagement with retailers and key trade associations to work in partnership to make the most of our enhanced retailer proposition. Similarly, we have supported our broader SME customer base with the launch of one month contracts in Handepay, Business Finance in partnership with YouLend and new terminal technology, giving flexibility, value and a vital boost as sectors have bounced back over the year.

“We’ve also diversified our digital payments client base further with 11 schemes live in the year, are developing new opportunities in Open Banking and have secured our first major housing client with Optivo, a leading UK housing association, for our complete digital payments solution. Furthermore, we enhanced our e-commerce offering, delivering record volume growth and an expansion of our partnership with Randox, providing vital Covid-19 testing services through our Collect+ network, as well as launching new services for our existing carrier partners, leveraging the investment made in print in-store technology and providing industry leadership for driving further innovation and prominence for the out-of-home delivery market.

“We are confident the steps we have taken during the financial year have enhanced the business and better positioned us to deliver growth. As a result, despite some continued headwinds, we are confident of delivering further progress in the year ahead and meeting expectations as we take advantage of the accelerated growth opportunities across our key markets.”

DIVISIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Strong performance across the Group with continued shift away from legacy bill payment markets

Shopping

Shopping divisional net revenue increased by 46.2% to £58.7 million, driven by the increased net revenue contribution from the Handepay/Merchant Rentals card payments businesses of £16.1 million, the roll out of PayPoint One to additional retailer sites and further enhancements to our retailer proposition, including Counter Cash and Snappy Shopper home delivery.

• Service fee net revenue increased by 13.1% to £16.6 million, with increases in sites from PayPoint One

• Strong card payment volumes continued on the existing book – Handepay business growing to 145.0 million transactions in the year (FY21: 106.4 million), together with the PayPoint card business increasing by 3.5% year on year to 217.8 million transactions, maintaining the strong volumes seen in FY21

• UK retail network increased to 28,254 sites (31 March 2021: 28,067), with 69% in independent retailer partners and 31% in multiple retail groups
  
  

E-commerce

E-commerce divisional net revenue increased by 36.2% to £4.9 million (FY21: £3.6m) and transactions grew by 25.2% to 33.3 million (FY21: 26.6 million) through our e-commerce technology platform, Collect+. This was driven by our best ever Peak Christmas performance, a strong Q4 with volume up +38.8% year on year powered by a resurgence in the clothing and footwear categories and continued improvements to the consumer in-store experience, particularly through our investment in ‘print in store’ technology.

Payments & Banking

Payments & Banking divisional net revenue decreased by 3.6% to £51.5 million, as a result of fewer cash bill payments and top up transactions, and margin erosion from client contract renewals, although this was offset by continued growth in digital transactions.

• Good digital payments growth to 34.2 million transactions (FY21: 27.2 million) and net revenue to £7.8 million (FY21: £6.1 million), with a positive contribution from RSM 2000, the successful launch of the Payment Exception Service for the Department for Work and Pensions, and continued demand for cash out services, which provide vital and immediate access to funds for vulnerable consumers driven by ongoing Government meal voucher schemes and hardship funds

• Cash through to digital transactions decreased by 6.9% with a 5.6% decrease in net revenue, reflecting these schemes delivering lower comparative volumes following the strong performance seen during Covid-19. On a two year comparative basis vs FY20, transaction volumes have increased by 16.3% and net revenue by 18.8%, driven by growth in transactions from our challenger bank and gifting partners

• Cash payments net revenue decreased by 7.7%, primarily due to consumers continuing to make fewer, larger bill payments, margin erosion as client contracts have been renewed, and a continued reduction in consumers and topping up mobile phones in store
  
  

BUSINESS DIVISION NET REVENUE AND MIX

A presentation for analysts is being held at 9.30am today (26 May 2022) via webcast. This announcement, along with details for the webcast, is available on the PayPoint plc website: corporate.paypoint.com

CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT

This has been another positive year for the PayPoint Group as the business has built on the transformation and strategic step change delivered last year. Over the last two years, the Group has undergone material change and diversified away from legacy business lines, with growth in digital payments, E-commerce and Shopping off-setting the decline in cash payments. I am delighted with the way the management team led by Nick Wiles and all the employees of the Group have responded to the continuing challenges in our markets, enabling us to report a positive financial performance, opening up further growth opportunities across the business and delivering further progress against our strategic objectives.

Governance

I am pleased to report that for the year under review, we have consistently applied the Principles of good governance contained in the 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code. The Board has completed a review of the disclosures and management of climate related risks for the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. Disclosure is provided in our 2022 Annual Report, along with the further progress made on developing our broader ESG strategy.

Executive Board

The Executive Board has also been strengthened in key areas this year to drive growth and accelerate the pace of delivery further. Anna Holness, joined the business as Sales Director in January 2022, after three years as VP, Sales, Merchant International Solutions at Worldpay. In addition, four internal promotions were made to the Executive Board in January 2022 to recognise their critical roles in delivering our growth agenda: Jo Toolan, Head of Client Management; Jay Payne, IT Service and Operations Director; Chris Paul, Head of Corporate Finance; and Steve O’Neill, Corporate Affairs and Marketing Director.

Board Evaluation

Following last year’s triennial external evaluation, we have this year conducted an internal evaluation of the Board, its Committees and individual Directors, which confirmed that our Board and Committees continue to operate effectively. More information on the process and results of that evaluation can be found in our Annual Report.

Ofgem

On 23 November 2021, Ofgem, the energy regulator, published a ‘Notice of Decision to Accept Binding Commitments’, regarding commitments proposed by PayPoint to Ofgem to address the concerns raised in Ofgem’s Statement of Objections received on 29 September 2020. Ofgem accepted those commitments as a resolution of its concerns. PayPoint has been implementing the commitments in a timetable agreed with Ofgem, including a £12.5m donation to Ofgem’s Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme (currently administered on Ofgem’s behalf by the Energy Saving Trust).

Annual General Meeting

The Company’s Annual General Meeting will be held at PayPoint’s registered office on 20 July 2022 where you will have the opportunity to meet the Board and members of the Executive Board. The matters to be approved by shareholders are set out in our Notice of Annual General Meeting which will be mailed to shareholders towards the end of June.

Giles Kerr
Chairman
25 May 2022

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW

This has been another positive year for the PayPoint Group. We have built on the last two years of transformation, where we have strengthened our capabilities and opened up further growth opportunities, delivering a broader range of innovative services and technology connecting millions of consumers with an expanded universe of over 60,000 retailer partner and SME locations across multiple sectors.

We have delivered a strong financial performance for the year against the backdrop of uncertainty and disruption in our energy and parcels markets and a rebalancing of consumer behaviour as Covid-19 restrictions have eased. Strategically, we have enhanced the Group’s capabilities further by completing the acquisition of RSM 2000 and making a strategic £6.7 million investment in Snappy Group, one of the UK’s leading local home delivery and click and collect operators. RSM 2000 enhances our digital payments capability, enabling reach into new and existing sectors, including charities, housing, not-for-profit organisations, events and SMEs in the UK. Our investment in Snappy Group builds on our previously announced commercial partnership, enabling the Group and its retailer partners to respond to consumer demand for rapid, local home delivery and remain at the forefront of retail and consumer trends. The acquisitions of Handepay/Merchant Rentals and i-movo in the last financial year are now fully integrated and have made important contributions to our performance and growth this year. As previously reported, we disposed of our Romanian business on 8 April 2021 with proceeds of £48 million, and at a £30 million profit.

The volume of new initiatives delivered across the Group has underlined the need for strong execution and leadership to leverage these opportunities, particularly where we are establishing operations for the first time. We have been relentlessly focused on operational excellence and the rapid delivery of our strategic priorities: embedding PayPoint at the heart of SME and convenience retail businesses; becoming the definitive technology-based e-commerce delivery platform for first and last mile customer journeys; sustaining leadership in ‘pay-as-you-go’ and growing digital bill payments; building a delivery focused organisation and culture. Our retailer partner proposition has been enhanced further to help respond to consumer trends and drive revenue opportunities in a challenging cost environment: our new Counter Cash solution is now live in 2,624 sites, providing vital access to cash in communities across the UK; the home delivery partnership with Snappy Shopper continues to grow with 269 sites live and positive sales growth; and we’ve continued to improve our engagement with retailers and key trade associations to work in partnership to make the most of the new opportunities.

We’ve also diversified our digital payments client base further with 18 schemes live in the year, are developing new opportunities in Open Banking and have secured our first major housing client with Optivo, a leading UK housing association, for our complete digital payments solution. This success has been driven by our focused sector approach to building strong client relationships, developing a deep understanding of their challenges and helping to solve problems for them and their customers. We continue to provide vital support to local authorities in disbursing cash to consumers with our Cash Out service and the new Payment Exception Service for the Department for Work and Pensions, which launched successfully and has exceeded our expectations, as consumers migrate away from Post Office Card Accounts. Furthermore, we enhanced our e-commerce offering further with an expansion of our partnership with Randox, providing vital Covid-19 testing services throughout our Collect+ and multiple retailer network, as well as launching new services for our existing carrier partners and providing industry leadership for driving further innovation and prominence for the out of home delivery market.

Many of these new services launched in the year have underlined the need to grow further consumer awareness for our expanded propositions, whether leveraging our own channels or partnering with clients and carriers on marketing programmes, such as the promising in-store merchandising on our digital voucher category working with brands like Amazon, Paysafe, Playstation and Love2Shop. Equally, we remain focused on ensuring that we continue to deliver an excellent service for our consumers, reflected in our high customer satisfaction score of 89%⁵, and to support them through the current energy crisis and economic challenges. This has been backed up by our extensive efforts to strengthen our retailer partner relationships and drive adoption of these new opportunities to earn, including regular ‘cash and carry’ days, more direct communications and our reinvigorated relationships with the key trade associations, including the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), the Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) and the National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN). The feedback and support received from these organisations has been critical to our continued commitment to support our retailer partners in delivering vital community services across the UK and responding to changing consumer needs in the UK convenience sector.

Like many businesses, we are navigating more challenges from a cost perspective due to inflation, particularly in our supplier base and the increased salary pressures experienced in recruiting and retaining talent that we referenced at the half year. We are also mindful of the impact of these pressures on the consumers, clients and retailers that we serve and have sought to take action where we can to support them, including our decision to absorb 50% of the annual RPI service fee increase for our retailer partners in April 2022. We are continuing our tight cost management and capital discipline to address these challenges.

The Executive Board has also been strengthened in key areas this year to drive growth and accelerate the pace of delivery further. Anna Holness, joined the business as Sales Director in January 2022, after three years as VP, Sales, Merchant International Solutions at Worldpay. In addition, four internal promotions were made to the Executive Board in January 2022 to recognise their critical roles in delivering our growth agenda: Jo Toolan, Head of Client Management; Jay Payne, IT Service and Operations Director; Chris Paul, Head of Corporate Finance; and Steve O’Neill, Corporate Affairs and Marketing Director.

Our Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy has also developed further in the year, as we consider our social responsibility and impact as a management team and business towards each of these key areas. A core ESG Working Group was formed at the beginning of the financial year to review policies and approaches across the Group, analyse cross-industry best practice, seek feedback from external stakeholders and investors, and recommend workstreams and targets for the business to prioritise. This builds on the work done last year to refresh our purpose, vision and values and now reflects the expanded universe we now inhabit as well as reinforcing the vital role that our services and partners play in communities across the UK.

On 23 November 2021, Ofgem, the energy regulator, published a ‘Notice of Decision to Accept Binding Commitments’, regarding commitments proposed by PayPoint to Ofgem to address the concerns raised in Ofgem’s Statement of Objections received on 29 September 2020. Ofgem accepted those commitments as a resolution of its concerns. PayPoint has been implementing the commitments in a timetable agreed with Ofgem.

Outlook and dividend

The transformation of the business is gathering pace, reflecting a rebalancing towards growth opportunities and delivering improving returns to our shareholders. We continue to demonstrate agility and drive to respond quickly to changing consumer demands and new opportunities in our markets. As a result, we remain well-placed to support our partners in response to the wider trends that have accelerated through the pandemic, including the continued shift from cash to digital payments, the growing demand for online shopping fulfilment and the increase in shopping local.

The Board has proposed a final dividend of 18.0p per share, an increase of 8.4%, consistent with our dividend policy of a target cover range of 1.2 to 1.5 times earnings from continuing operations excluding exceptional items, which reflects our long-term confidence in the business, the strength of our underlying cash flow, the mitigation plans in place for inflationary pressures and the enhanced growth prospects from the steps we have taken in the past year.

The Board remains confident in the delivery of further progress in FY23 and meeting expectations.

Nick Wiles
Chief Executive
25 May 2022

MARKET OVERVIEW

Changing market dynamics are creating significant opportunities for the enlarged PayPoint Group, with the business well placed to take advantage of the continued shift from cash to digital payments, the growing demand for online shopping fulfilment and the increase in shopping local. We equally remain committed to supporting our clients, retailer partners and consumers, helping them solve problems arising from the current macro economic challenges.

Key trends and changes since the end of the FY21 financial year in the UK markets in which PayPoint operates include:

Macro economic factors

• The Consumer Prices Index (CPI)⁶ grew to 7.8% in April 2022, driven by increased transport and energy costs

• The GfK UK Consumer Confidence Index⁷ fell to -38 in April 2022 (vs -15 in April 2021), with the cost of living crisis hitting UK consumers and the headline confidence score dropping to a near historic low, not seen since the 2008 financial crash and the first few months of the pandemic in 2020

• UK Retail Sales fell by 1.4% in March 2022, with the proportion of retail sales online falling to 26.0%, continuing a broad downward trend since its peak in February 2021 (37.1%).

• The Lumina CTP Price Index⁸, tracking shopper price sensitivity, has grown by 5.4% since last year, indicating consumers have already become more price-led, seeking out budget options and reducing spend

• A recent study from Which?⁹ has shown that the rising cost of living could mean more people who do not usually use cash turning to it to manage their finances. A fifth (20%) of non-regular cash users said they would start using cash if the cost of living gets worse, with over a third (34%) of respondents whose annual income was lower than £20,000 finding cash easier to budget with, on its own or alongside other payment methods. Around 15 million regular cash users say it helps them to keep track of their spending, underlining its importance for those on tight budgets
  
  

Convenience retail

• The UK convenience market grew to £43.2 billion¹⁰ in 2021 as the pandemic-induced boost to market value was retained.

• PayPoint One basket data shows overall convenience store average basket spend in the year has reduced year on year to £8.89 (FY21: £9.86) vs. the highs seen during the Covid-19 affected prior year. However, average basket spend has now grown by 9.6% over the past two years (FY20: £8.11), driven by cost inflation and reinforcing continuing consumer demand to shop local after government restrictions have been lifted¹¹

• Total UK convenience store numbers remained resilient, with marginal growth of 0.2% to 47,079¹²

• The sector continues to see consolidation, most recently with Morrison’s buying the McColl’s Retail Group following their administration in May 2022, maintaining over 1,000 stores across the UK

• Local home delivery and click and collect from convenience stores has grown rapidly over the past year, driven by the pandemic. Currently, circa 5% of total convenience missions are driven through these methods and they attract a younger, more affluent consumer, with basket spend being +128% higher than in-store shoppers¹³
  
  

Card payments

• Growth has again been driven by the shift from cash to card payments accelerated through Covid-19

• Forecast growth in UK debit card market by 2027 to 19.7 billion payments¹⁴

• In the financial year, card payment volumes increased by 3.5% year on year in the PayPoint business, against strong volumes in FY21 due to Covid-19

• Latest UK Finance data¹⁵ shows a 44.1% increase in debit card transactions (January 2022 vs January 2021) with 68.8% of transactions now contactless (vs. 56.9% in January 2021) driven by the increase in the contactless limit to £100 in October 2021

• In the SME markets that our Handepay business serves, businesses employing 0-49 people, account for 99.2% (5.5 million) of the total UK business population, with 75% (4.2 million) having no employees and a further 20% (1.1 million) classed as micro-businesses with 0-9 employees¹⁶. Retail, auto trade and hospitality businesses make up circa 14% of the SME sector¹⁷.
  
  

Cash Out

• Despite the shift from cash usage during Covid-19, PayPoint’s Cash Out service has grown significantly year on year, driven by ongoing Government meal voucher schemes and Covid-19 related hardship funds. In addition, the launch of the Payment Exception Service, run for the Department for Work and Pensions via our i-movo business, has further underlined the continuing importance of delivering cash payments to those without access to a standard bank account and replaces the Post Office Card Account, which is coming to an end

• Latest data from February 2022¹⁸ showed LINK’s ATM transactions were 19% higher year on year (117 million transactions) than February 2021 affected by Covid-19 lockdowns, but 36% down on 2020, which was just before the start of the pandemic. The number of ATMs in the UK reduced by 1.1% year on year to 52,613

• Access to cash remains a key priority in the UK. The Financial Conduct Authority and Payment Systems Regulator are taking a joint approach to maintaining services for the many people who continue to rely on cash as a vital way of making payments. The Access To Cash Action Group, chaired by Natalie Ceeney, has been working on Community Access To Cash pilots, including PayPoint’s Counter Cash service, which launched in November 2021 offering cashback without purchase and balance enquiries over the counter
  
  

Parcels

• Online retail sales in 2021 were down 5.6% year on year, according to IMRG’s Online Retail Performance Report 2021, vs. 2020 which was positively impacted by Covid-19.¹⁹

• IMRG data shows that click and collect share of the delivery market in Nov 2021 - Jan 2022 dropped year on year to 18% (vs. 20% in the same period last year), but still lower than the high of 35% seen in 2019

• This contrasts with the strong performance seen in the Collect+ network in FY22 as transactions were +25.2% vs. the prior year, outperforming the overall online retail sales market and driven by a resurgence in the clothing and footwear categories, which performed poorly in 2020, and the strength and breadth of carrier relationships and categories handled across the network of over 10,000 locations

• Metapack data²⁰ shows that 87% of UK consumers have shopped more online during the pandemic, with 71% having returned a product. Delivery preference is key in the e-commerce journey, with 56% considering it the most important factor when shopping online. Home delivery is still the preferred channel for 82% of consumers, with PUDO at 8% and lockers at 2%

• The Out of Home (OOH) market comprises click and collect, returns and send propositions. The click and collect market is 11% of all volumes, c.150 million parcels per year and is expected to double by 2025²¹. Returns and send volumes are estimated at c.185 million and c.380 million parcels per year respectively²²
  
  

Bill payments and top-ups

• The dislocation of the energy market heightened in September 2021, with small operator insolvencies and pressure from rising wholesale prices. A well-established Ofgem process to support and transfer customers to new suppliers was invoked with minimal impact and risk to our business and client base. PayPoint’s focus through the period has been on increased client engagement and leveraging the strength and stability of our network to provide an uninterrupted service to consumers

• The price cap for pre-pay customers increased to £1,309²³ for the six months to March 2022, which was 13% higher than the cap of £1,156 in the six months from April 2021 to September 2021. From 1 April 2022, the price cap increased by a further 54% to £2,017 for the six months to September 2022.

• Non-Big Six energy providers combined market share increased marginally to 29.6%²⁴ at end of January 2022 (29% as of 31 March 2021)

• The rollout of smart meters has regained pace following the impact of Covid-19 in 2020. 4.5m meters were installed in 2021²⁵ versus 3.2m in 2020. The deadline for completion of the rollout has now been extended to 30 June 2025

• PayPoint data shows average transaction values for dual fuel had grown to £15.66 in March 2022, from £14.10 in the previous year, affecting frequency of visits and transaction volumes

• The number of Pay As You Go mobile subscribers declined to 21.5 million subscribers²⁶ in April 2022, from 22.2 million in April 2021

PROGRESS AGAINST OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

SHOPPING BUSINESS DIVISION – FY22 net revenue £58.7m (FY21: £40.2m)

PRIORITY 1: EMBED PAYPOINT GROUP AT THE HEART OF SME AND CONVENIENCE RETAIL BUSINESSES

We provide digital solutions, technology and payment services for SMEs and retailers to deliver vital community services

Retail services - we help our retailer and SME partners keep pace with changing shopper needs, service expectations and demographics. Our retail services platform, PayPoint One, is live in 18,120 stores across the UK and offers everything a modern convenience store needs, including EPoS, parcel services, card and bill payments, home delivery and digital vouchering. This empowers our retailer partners to grow their businesses profitably, achieving higher footfall and increased spend. We also provide access to cash solutions via our network of 3,686 ATMs and our pioneering Counter Cash service, offering cashback without purchase and balance enquiries over the counter, is now live in 2,624 sites.

Card payments – we provide card payments services for over 30,000 SMEs and convenience retailers across the hospitality, convenience retail, auto trade, clothing and household goods sectors via our PayPoint, Handepay, Merchant Rentals and RSM 2000 brands

FY22 Progress

• Counter Cash live in 2,624 sites, offering vital access to cash over the counter and complementing existing ATM estate

• SME proposition enhanced, including Handepay one-month contract launched successfully to over 2,300 SMEs, Business Finance via YouLend with over £8.5 million lent across PayPoint and Handepay, and new technology developed

• Snappy Shopper live in 269 sites, helping retailer partners offer local home delivery and click and collect

• Strong sales team delivery across PayPoint and Handepay, with over 6,900 installs across both businesses, increased engagement, visits, training and support for retailers and SMEs and uniting under new Sales Director

FY23 Priorities

• Bring all new card payments business across PayPoint retail and Handepay under a single acquiring service provider

• Expand Counter Cash service across UK retail network

• Build on our reinvigorated retailer engagement programme to drive further consumer and retailer awareness and adoption of new services

• Grow SME and retailer partner lending proposition, developing new commercial partnerships and building on success of YouLend

• Deliver further enhancements to our retailer proposition, including refreshed third party EPoS strategy

• Deliver broader SME proposition across Handepay customer base via rollout of new Android terminal

E-COMMERCE BUSINESS DIVISION – FY22 net revenue £4.9m (FY21: £3.6m)

PRIORITY 2: BECOME THE DEFINITIVE TECHNOLOGY-BASED E-COMMERCE DELIVERY PLATFORM FOR FIRST AND LAST MILE CUSTOMER JOURNEYS

We provide a technology-based platform to deliver best-in-class customer journeys for e-commerce brands and their customers over the ‘first and last mile’, leveraging our proprietary software capability and expertise with continuous investment and innovation in the in-store experience.

E-commerce - we deliver all of this in over 10,000 locations through our Collect+ brand, helping consumers pick up and drop off online shopping or send parcels across the UK. We work with a comprehensive range of partners, including Amazon, eBay, Yodel, Fedex, DPD, DHL, Hubbox, Parcels2Go and Randox. Our proprietary Out of Home (OOH) software solutions are built inhouse, with a singular focus on the delivery of great consumer experiences and confidence in the crucial first and last mile of parcel journeys. These solutions are easily deployable in thousands of diverse locations across multiple sectors through the PayPoint Group. Our unique blend of in-depth parcel operations experience, consumer interaction and agile IT development capability has been built over years of delivering best-in-class customer experiences.

FY22 Progress

• Parcel transaction growth of +25.2% year on year vs FY21, driven by best ever Peak Christmas performance, strong Q4 with transactions +38.8% year on year driven by a resurgence in the clothing and footwear categories and continued improvements to the consumer in-store experience, particularly through our investment in ‘print in store’ technology

• New partnership launched with Randox, enabling consumers to order tests online for click-and-collect at over 2,000 Collect+ sites

• Expanding services to existing clients with DHL In Store returns and Amazon returns, enabled by further Zebra label printer rollout

• First multi-carrier innovation, trends and future opportunities workshop held in January 2022 to review best practice and performance from the successful peak 2021 period and agree initiatives to drive further excellence

  

FY23 Priorities

• Deliver Universal Returns proposition for carrier partners to all Collect+ locations

• Expand successful ‘in-flight divert’ service to more carriers, where parcels are automatically diverted to the nearest pick up point after initial unsuccessful delivery attempt at home

• Explore additional opportunities to expand carrier proposition, including trial of parcel lockers

• Continue to drive leadership for in-store technology and consumer experience within the sector, supporting carrier partners with data, insights and opportunities to expand their customer offering

PAYMENTS & BANKING BUSINESS DIVISION – FY22 net revenue £51.5m (FY21: £53.3m)

PRIORITY 3: SUSTAIN LEADERSHIP IN ‘PAY-AS-YOU-GO’ AND GROW DIGITAL BILL PAYMENTS

We deliver a channel agnostic payment platform that gives clients and consumers choice

Digital - we have continued our diversification to digital payments, helping organisations seamlessly and effectively serve their customers. Our market-leading omnichannel solution – MultiPay – is an integrated solution offering a full suite of digital payments. It enables transactions online and through smartphone apps and text messages, as well as event payments, over the counter, over the phone and via interactive voice response (IVR) systems. It also supports a full range of Direct Debit options, including scheduling collections, as well as new product developments such as Open Banking, PayByLink, recurring payments and Event Streamer. MultiPay customers benefit from real-time visibility of all payments received, through one easy-to-use portal that is fully PCI compliant, and allows visibility of all payment channels - including cash. The platform is used by a growing number of organisations across the UK, including many housing associations, local government authorities and utility providers. Our Cash Out service also enables the rapid dispersal of funds through secure digital channels and is actively used by local authorities and charities to distribute emergency funds. In August 2021, we launched the new Payment Exception Service via i-movo for the Department of Work and Pensions, digitising benefit payments and replacing the Post Office Card Account which is closing.

Cash through to digital – we enable consumers to access digital brands and services through a comprehensive portfolio of gifting, e-banking and gaming partners, including Amazon, Xbox, PlayStation, Paysafe, Monzo and the Appreciate Group. Consumers simply pay for a ‘pin on receipt’ code in cash in any of our 28,254 retail locations and then can use that value online with the digital brand or service chosen. For our challenger bank partners, consumers can deposit cash into their accounts across our extensive retail network.

Cash - we provide vital access to cash payment services across the UK by helping millions of people every week control their household finances, make essential payments and access in-store services. Our UK retail network of more than 28,000 stores is bigger than all banks, supermarkets and Post Offices together, putting us at the heart of communities nationwide

FY22 Progress

• Continued diversification from cash to digital with 28 new client services now live, 19 coming from non-energy sectors and 18 taking digital payments solutions, supported by development of additional capabilities, including Open Banking and new Direct Debit platform

• New Payment Exception Service launched via i-movo for DWP, contributing £1.6m of net revenue

• First major digital contract now live with Optivo, one of the UK’s largest housing associations

• Acquisition of RSM 2000 completed on 12 April 2021 – positive contribution of £1.1m net revenue with charity and housing sector action plan underway to expand digital payments services to new and existing clients

FY23 Priorities

• Create payment channel agnostic platform, including Open Banking, Direct Debit, card processing and real-time cash, creating a strong set of capabilities for each target vertical, particularly housing and charities

• Continue to invest in new verticals and deliver new business wins, particularly within the housing, newspaper, charity and not-for-profit sectors

• Reinforce PayPoint’s position as the leader for ‘cash out’ services for local authorities and housing associations, supporting them in digitally disbursing vital funds to customers in cash

• Grow cash through to digital category further, partnering with major brands to drive greater consumer awareness

PRIORITY 4: BUILDING A DELIVERY FOCUSED ORGANISATION AND CULTURE

PAYPOINT GROUP

Underpinning the PayPoint Group’s future success is the continued development and investment in our people, systems and organisation. We aim to create a dynamic place to work for our people, enabling us to deliver for our customers by collaborating and being good colleagues to each other, creating a positive and inclusive environment where everyone can learn, grow and shine.

FY22 Progress

• Anna Holness joined the Executive Board as Sales Director in January 2022, leading the retail and card services sales teams across PayPoint and Handepay

• Four internal promotions made to the Executive Board in January 2022, recognising their critical roles in delivering our growth agenda: Jo Toolan, Head of Client Management; Jay Payne, IT Service and Operations Director; Chris Paul, Head of Corporate Finance; and Steve O’Neill, Corporate Affairs and Marketing Director

• Integration work now complete for acquisitions of Handepay/Merchant Rentals, RSM 2000 and i-movo

• Further development of our ESG approach, with core ESG Working Group formed to analyse cross-industry best practice, seek feedback from external stakeholders and investors, and recommend workstreams and targets for the business to prioritise

FY23 Priorities

• Deliver further growth opportunities and synergies from our acquisitions over the past two years

• Embed our ESG approach across the business to deliver responsible and sustainable value for shareholders

• Expand our ‘Welcoming Everyone’ programme to build on our commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion and support our vision to create a dynamic place to work

• Invest to build further resilience into our service delivery, including improving quality and speed of agile delivery, reviewing ‘heritage’ systems and settlement infrastructure and enhancing customer support and collaboration

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

PayPoint Group has identified the following KPIs to measure progress of business performance:

FINANCIAL REVIEW

OVERVIEW OF CONTINUING OPERATIONS

Last year we saw the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic affect a number of our business lines and sectors which drove significant variances. In the current year a number of variances are driven by the impact of our acquisitions as well as a number of those business lines and sectors that have partially recovered. Given the disposal of the Romanian business on 8 April 2021 the focus of this review is primarily on the continuing operations of the Group, the results of Romania have been classified as a discontinued operation and are provided below.

The above results for continuing operations reflect a number of corporate changes within the Group and the impact of exceptional items. The results of last year’s acquisitions, i-movo in December 2020 and Handepay/Merchant Rentals in February 2021, are included for the full year as is the acquisition of RSM 2000 which completed in April 2021.

Profit before tax from continuing operations of £48.5 million (2021: £20.4 million) increased by £28.1 million (137.3%). The current year reflects exceptional income of £2.9 million whilst the prior year reflects exceptional costs of £16.1 million which includes the £12.5 million provision made in relation to the Ofgem Statement of Objections. The profit before tax from continuing operations excluding exceptional items, the underlying profit, increased by £9.1 million (25.0%) to £45.6 million (2021: £36.5 million).

Revenue from continuing operations increased by £17.4 million (13.6%) to £145.1 million (2021: £127.7 million). Net revenue from continuing operations increased by £18.0 million (18.5%) to £115.1 million (2021: £97.1 million). Handepay and Merchant Rentals contributed additional £16.1 million net revenue from a full year compared to two months in 2021. Growth in service fees from additional sites and growth in e-commerce as it recovers from Covid-19 have been partially offset by the headwinds of structural changes and margin pressure on UK bill payments and a continued decline in cash use on UK bill payments, top ups and ATMs.

Shopping net revenue increased by £18.5 million (46.2%) to £58.7 million (2021: £40.2 million). Service fees net revenue increased by £1.9 million (13.1%) driven by additional PayPoint One sites and implementing the annual RPI increase. ATM net revenue decreased by 0.1% due to a reduction in transactions driven by the continuing trend of reduced demand for cash across the economy. Handepay/Merchant Rentals net revenue increased by £16.1 million (658.4%) as both entities were owned for a full financial year compared to the previous year where they were owned for two months. PayPoint card payments net revenue decreased by £1.1 million (9.4%), maintaining strong transaction volumes seen in prior year but at a lower average transaction value.

E-commerce net revenue increased by £1.3 million (36.2%) to £4.9 million (2021: £3.6 million), driven by strong growth in total transactions which increased by 25.3% with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in the current year. This facilitated increased Pick Up/Drop Off activity combined with growth in volumes following our investment in thermal instore Zebra printers. During the year a new partnership was launched with Randox providing their Covid-19 testing service in our parcel network, this contributed £0.5 million of revenue (2021: £nil).

Payments & Banking net revenue decreased by £1.8 million (3.6%) to £51.5 million (2021: £53.3 million). Cash bill payments net revenue decreased by £2.3 million (8.1%) to £26.7 million, as a result of a decrease in bill payment transactions from the continued switch to digital payment methods along with the continuing impacts of Covid-19 where consumers are making larger payments, less frequently. Cash top-ups net revenue decreased by £0.5 million (6.2%) to £7.8 million with volumes down 12.6% driven by the continuing structural declines in the prepaid mobile sector. Digital net revenue increased by £1.6 million (27.1%) to £7.7 million driven by the £1.1 million net revenue contribution from RSM 2000 in the year. MultiPay net revenue decreased by £0.9 million to £3.3 million (2021: £4.2 million) and transactions increased 6.7% as a result of more clients taking the digital services and contribution from the new functionalities of Direct Debit and PayByLink although at a lower net revenue per transaction. This has been partially offset by Cash Out net revenue which increased by 75.6%, driven by the new DWP Payment Exception Service launched by the i-movo acquisition. Existing Cashout vouchers decreased by £0.1 million (4.7%) to £1.6 million (2021: £1.7 million) as the demand from local authorities to disperse Covid-19 support schemes has reduced. eMoney net revenue decreased by £0.5 million (5.6%) to £8.2 million (2021: £8.7 million), as a result of a 6.9% decrease in transactions reflecting these schemes delivering lower volumes following the strong performance seen during Covid-19 period.

Total costs from continuing operations excluding exceptional costs increased by £8.9 million to £69.5 million (2021: £60.6 million). The increase in costs was driven by the £12.2m additional cost base in relation to the newly acquired businesses partially offset by £3.3m reduction in operational costs. Prior year costs have been restated and reduced by £1.0 million by the retrospective application of the change in accounting policy on intangible assets following the April 2021 IFRIC agenda decision on costs incurred in implementing cloud computing SaaS arrangements.

Reconciliation from profit before tax from continuing operations to underlying profit before tax from continuing operations

Current year exceptional item is a £2.9 million revaluation gain of the i-movo deferred, contingent consideration liability. Prior year exceptional costs of £16.1 million were one-off acquisition and refinancing expenses and a £12.5 million provision in relation to Ofgem’s Statement of Objections.

Cash generation from continuing operations excluding exceptional items remained strong with £53.9 million (2021: £46.9 million), delivered from profit before tax excluding exceptional items of £45.6 million (2021: £36.5 million). There was a net working capital outflow of £3.2 million, primarily the VAT deferral offered by HMRC being repaid in the period.

Net corporate debt decreased by £24.3 million to £43.9 million (2021: £68.2 million) due to the benefit from the disposal of the Romanian business partially offset by current year investments in Snappy Shopper and RSM 2000. At 31 March 2022 loans and borrowings were £51.5 million (2021: £86.6 million) which included £2.9 million of asset financing in the Merchant Rentals acquisition.

SECTOR ANALYSIS

SHOPPING

Shopping consists of services PayPoint provides to retailer partners, which form part of PayPoint’s network, and SME partners. Services include providing the PayPoint One platform (which has a basic till application), EPoS, card payments, ATMs, Counter Cash and terminal leasing.

Net revenue increased by £18.5 million (46.2%) to £58.7 million (2021: £40.2 million) primarily due to the inclusion of Handepay and Merchant Rentals revenues for the full year. The net revenue of each of our key products is separately addressed below.

As at 31 March 2022, PayPoint had a live terminal in 28,254 UK sites, an increase of 0.7% primarily as a result of new sales. PayPoint One sites increased by 5.5% to 18,791 sites due to new sales and the continued migration from the legacy T2 terminal.

Service fees: This is a core growth area and consists of service fees from PayPoint One and our legacy terminals. Service fee net revenue increased by £2.0 million (13.1%) to £16.6 million driven by the additional 658 PayPoint One revenue generating sites compared to 2021. The higher price point EPoS Core sites increased by 1,332 due to new sales and upselling whilst EPOS Pro sites decreased by 151 compared to 2021, which had benefited from our three month try before you buy EPoS Pro offering.

The PayPoint One average weekly service fee per site increased by 4.3% to £17.0, benefiting from the increase in EPoS Core sites which are charged at a higher rate and the annual RPI increase. Retailers taking the Core version of the product represent 51.3% (2021: 46.7%) of all PayPoint One sites and the Pro version represent 5.8% (2021: 7.0%). Legacy terminals now just remain in a few of our multiple retailer partners but are being replaced.

Card payments: Handepay and Merchant Rentals generated £18.5 million net revenue in the year. Handepay contributed £12.8 million card payments net revenue and 145.0 million transactions, benefiting from the reopening of SMEs across key sectors with the easing of government restrictions. Handepay card payment services were live in 22,796 sites at 31 March 2022, an increase of 3,991 sites (21.2%) since 31 March 2021. Merchant Rentals contributed £5.7 million terminal leasing net revenue.

PayPoint card payments transactions increased by 3.5% to 217.8 million and net revenue decreased by 9.4% to £11.0 million maintaining strong transaction volumes seen in FY21 but at a lower average transaction value £11.27 (FY21: £12.40). Across our network there were 9,666 PayPoint card payments sites, a decrease of 264 sites (2.7%) since 31 March 2021.

RSM 2000 card payments reflects a full year’s transactions from the new acquisition.

ATMs: Net revenue remained flat at £9.7 million although transactions reduced by 0.8% to 30.4 million. This is attributable to the continued reduced demand for cash across the economy, accentuated by the Covid-19 preference for card use. Sites increased 1.7% to 3,686 and PayPoint continued to optimise its ATM network by relocating existing machines to better performing locations.

Other: Other shopping services increased by £0.7 million (56.4%) to £2.0 million (2021: £1.3 million) this includes the launch of the partnership with Snappy Shopper and the new PayPoint Counter Cash service which was live in 2,624 sites.

E-COMMERCE

E-commerce net revenue increased by £1.3 million (36.2%) to £4.9 million due to the increase in total parcels transactions by 25.2% to 33.3 million with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in the current period facilitating increased Out of Home activity. The prior period transactions were impacted by Covid-19 restrictions with consumers staying at home. Parcel sites decreased by 4.4% to 10,049 sites due to stores being removed from our network.

PAYMENTS & BANKING

Payments & Banking divisional net revenue decreased by 3.6% to £51.5 million, as a result of fewer cash bill payments and top up transactions, and margin erosion from client contract renewals but partly offset by continued growth in digital transactions

Cash - bill payments net revenue decreased by £2.3 million (8.1%) to £26.7 million primarily as a result of the continued switch to digital payment methods and consumers are continuing to make larger payments, less frequently. Cash bill payments transactions decreased by 11.1 million (6.6%) to 157.2 million. Cash bill payments net revenue per transaction decreased by 0.2 pence (1.4%) due to margin erosion from client contract renewals.

Cash - top-ups net revenue decreased by £0.5 million (6.2%) to £7.8 million. Cash top-ups transactions decreased by 3.1 million (12.6%) to 21.2 million due to further market declines in the prepaid mobile sector whereby UK direct debit pay monthly options displace UK prepay mobile and Covid-19 impacts where consumers are making larger payments and less frequently.

Digital (MultiPay, Cash Out and RSM 2000) net revenue increased by £1.7 million (27.1%) to £7.8 million and digital transactions increased by 7.0 million (25.6%) to 34.2 million driven by the £1.1 million contribution of RSM 2000 to this sector. MultiPay net revenue decreased by £0.9 million to £3.3 million (2021: £4.2 million), this was due to the expected volume reduction from Utilita moving customers to their in-house solutions. This was partially offset by the new DWP Payment Exception Service which contributed £1.6 million net revenue in the period partially offset by Cash Out net revenue which decreased by £0.1 million (4.7%), driven by reduced demand from local authorities seeking to digitise their payments offering and despite Covid-19 meal voucher schemes winding down.

Cash through to digital (eMoney) net revenue decreased by £0.5 million (5.6%) to £8.2 million (2021: £8.7 million) and transactions decreased by 0.8 million (6.9%) to 10.6 million (2021: 11.4 million) reflecting these schemes delivering lower volumes following the strong performance seen during Covid-19 period. eMoney transactions derive a substantially higher fee per transaction than traditional top-up transactions.

Other payments & banking net revenue includes SIM sales and other ad-hoc items which contributed £1.0 million (2021: £1.2 million) net revenue. The decrease reflects the continuing decline in SIM sales, accentuated by the impact of Covid-19 on tourism.

TOTAL COSTS

Total costs from continuing operations increased by £8.9 million (14.7%) to £69.5 million. Prior year costs have been restated and reduced by £1.0 million by the retrospective application of the change in accounting policy on intangible assets following the April 2021 IFRIC agenda decision on costs incurred in implementing cloud computing SaaS arrangements. This is the net impact of reversing amortisation of previously capitalised intangible assets and expensing rather than capitalising SaaS type expenditure in the year.

The increase in costs from continuing operations was primarily driven by the cost base in relation to the newly acquired businesses of £12.2 million, included within this balance is £2.4 million for amortisation on acquired intangibles shown in administrative expenses.

This was partially offset by operational cost reductions made in the group of £3.3 million. This included lower people costs of £1.2 million primarily as a result of higher vacancies this year compared to last year, lower depreciation and amortisation with some legacy assets coming to the end of their life.

OPERATING MARGIN BEFORE EXCEPTIONAL ITEMS³³

Operating margin from continuing operations before exceptional items of 41.4% (2021: 39.0%) increased by 2.4 ppts due to increases in our shopping sector which carries a higher operating margin.

PROFIT BEFORE TAX AND TAXATION

The tax charge for continuing operations of £9.0 million (2021: £4.5 million) on profit before tax from continuing operations of £48.5 million (2021: £20.4 million) represents an effective tax rate³⁴ of 18.5% (2021: 22.3%). 3.8ppts lower than prior year due to a decrease in disallowable expenses associated with the one-off acquisition and disposal costs and expenditure qualifying for the capital allowances super deduction and non-taxable items, partially offset by the impact of revaluing the deferred tax liability following the enactment of the increased main rate of UK corporation tax from 19% to 25% with effect from 1 April 2023.

DISCONTINUED OPERATION - ROMANIA

The revenues and net profit from the discontinued operation in the current year represents the revenue and costs from the Romanian business between 1 and 8 April 2021 prior to disposal completion.

GROUP STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

Net assets of £83.3 million (2021: £33.3 million) increased by £50.0 million. Current assets decreased by £64.4 million to £104.8 million (2021: £169.2 million) with no assets held for sale in the current financial period following the sale of the Romania business in April 2021. Non-current assets of £127.3 million (2021: £115.7 million) increased by £11.6 million mainly due to the additional investments made in RSM 2000 and Snappy Shopper Limited.Current liabilities reduced £88.0 million due to no liabilities relating to assets held for sale, £24.0 million reduction in loans and borrowings from using part of the Romania disposal proceeds and payment in relation to Ofgem.Non-current liabilities of £15.7 million (2021: £30.5 million) decreased mainly by the non-current portion of the 3 year term loan.

GROUP CASH FLOW AND LIQUIDITY

The following table summarises the cash flow movements during the year.

The following table summarises the cash generation from continuing operations excluding exceptional items

Cash generation remained strong with £41.4 million (2021: £51.4 million) delivered from profit before tax from continuing and discontinued operations of £78.5 million (2021: £28.0 million). Current year cash generation was impacted by the £12.5 million payment in relation to the Ofgem Statement of Objections. Adjusting for exceptional items, cash generation from continuing operations improved by 14.9% to 53.9 million. There was a net working capital outflow of £3.2 million primarily from the VAT deferral offered by HMRC now being repaid.

The current period benefited from the £47.6 million cash proceeds received on sale of the Romanian business, net of transaction costs. Taxation payments on account of £9.2 million (2021: £8.4 million) are higher compared to the prior period due to the increased taxable profits earned in the period compared to the prior year. Dividend payments were higher compared to the prior period due to the increase in the interim and final ordinary dividend paid per share for the prior year ended 31 March 2021.

Capital expenditure of £10.8 million (2021: £5.2 million) was £5.6 million higher than the prior year. Capital expenditure primarily consists of IT hardware, PayPoint One terminals, EPoS development and the enhancement to the Direct Debit platform. The increase in capital expenditure is primarily driven by the enhancement to the Direct Debit platform.

At 31 March 2022 net corporate debt was £43.9 million (2021: £68.2 million) and has decreased by £24.3 million from the prior year end position. Total loans and borrowings of £51.6 million which have decreased by £35.0 million consisted of a £21.7 million amortising term loan, £27.0 million drawdown of the £75.0 million revolving credit facility and £2.9 million of asset financing balances (2021: £49.5 million drawdown from the revolving credit facility, £32.5 million amortising term loan and £4.6 million of asset financing balances). The cash proceeds received on sale of the Romanian business in April 2021 were partly used to reduce the revolving credit facility.

DIVIDENDS

We have declared an increase of 8.4% in the final dividend of 18.0 pence per share (2021: 16.6 pence per share) payable in equal instalments of 9.0 pence per share (2021: 8.3 pence per share) on 25 July 2022 and 30 September 2022 to shareholders on the register on 10 June 2022 and 2 August 2022 respectively. The final dividend is subject to the approval of the shareholders at the annual general meeting on 20 July 2022.

The final dividends will result in £12.4 million (2021: £11.4 million) being paid to shareholders from the standalone statement of financial position of the Company which, as at 31 March 2022, had approximately £67.9 million (2021: £58.1 million) of distributable reserves.

CAPITAL ALLOCATION

The Board’s immediate priority is to continue to preserve PayPoint’s balance sheet strength. The Group maintains a capital structure appropriate for current and prospective trading over the medium term that allows a healthy mix of dividends and cash for investment through capital expenditure and acquisitions. The Board’s approach to the setting of the ordinary dividend has not materially changed since the prior year end and follows the following capital allocation priorities:

• Investment in the business through capital expenditure in innovation to drive future revenue streams and improve the resilience and efficiency of our operations;

• Investment in opportunities such as the acquisitions of i-movo, Handepay/Merchant Rentals and RSM 2000 in November 2020, February 2021 and April 2021 respectively and investment in Snappy Shopper in April 2021;

• Progressive ordinary dividends targeting a cover ratio of 1.2 to 1.5³⁷ times continuing operations earnings excluding exceptional items.
  
  

GOING CONCERN

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis having regard to the identified principal risks and uncertainties and viability statement on page 26. Our cash and borrowing capacity provides sufficient funds to meet the foreseeable needs of the Group including dividends.

Alan Dale
Finance Director

25 May 2022

PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

Like all businesses, we face a number of risks and uncertainties and successful management of existing and emerging risks is critical to the achievement of strategic objectives and to the long-term success of any business. Therefore, risk management is an integral part of PayPoint’s Corporate Governance.

Strategy
Strategic and operational benefits of proactively managing risk are achieved when Enterprise Risk Management is aligned with the strategic and operational goals of the organisation, and our process and governance structure achieve this. Risks are assessed through PayPoint’s risk management and internal control framework which are designed to identify and manage risk. Processes apply throughout the Group and are designed to mitigate rather than eliminate risk. The Board is responsible for overseeing the risk management process and approves levels of acceptable risk. The Board is also responsible for maintaining an appropriate internal control environment to manage risk effectively. The Audit Committee supports the Board in reviewing the effectiveness of risk management and internal controls. The risk management and internal control framework aims to provide assurance to stakeholders regarding PayPoint’s ability to deliver its objectives and manage risks.

Risk appetite
PayPoint’s risk appetite is set by the Board and aligns the level of risk considered acceptable in achieving strategic objectives, increasing financial returns and adhering with statutory requirements. The Board and the Executive Board have key roles in ensuring the internal control framework maintains risk within the appetite set. Internal controls are embedded across the Group in core processes including policies and procedures, delegated authorities, PayPoint values and training.

Risk identification and management
The risk management process assesses strategic, financial, IT, regulatory and operational risk across all areas of the business. PayPoint’s risk framework includes a bottom-up risk assessment process managed through risk and control registers, and a top-down risk assessment and horizon scanning process to identify emerging risks. Functional and entity risk and control registers are maintained which form an important component of our governance framework. Risks and controls are determined by Executive Board members and senior management, and discussed with the Head of Risk and Internal Audit. Risk and control registers contain a risk description, assessment of materiality, probability, mitigating controls, residual risk and risk owners.
At least annually, risks identified through the top down and bottom up risk assessment processes are agreed with Executive Board members to determine principal and emerging risks. The Audit Committee receives and reviews information on the risk framework and principal and emerging risks and advises the Board on risks.

CHANGES TO PRINCIPAL RISKS

New risks and disclosures
This year Operational Delivery has been elevated to a separate principal risk. Previously it formed part of our Transformation principal risk but now Operational Delivery it is considered a principal risk in its own right, in support of Transformation. This year we have also disclosed Board risk appetite for each principal risk.

Changing risks
People & Culture – This risk has been renamed as People as culture is no longer considered a principal risk following successful integration of the acquisitions made in 2020 and 2021 and switch to hybrid working. Remaining culture risks are included under the People principal risk.
Transformation & Acquisition Integration – Acquisition Integration is no longer considered a principal risk following successful integration of the acquisitions made in 2020 and 2021. Remaining risks are included under the Transformation principal risk.
Cyber Security & Data Protection – This risk has been renamed as cyber security as data protection is now recognised as a key component of cyber security risk. Regulatory risk in relation to data protection is included the Legal & Regulatory principal risk.

Receding risks
Government Policy – Government policy was previously considered an emerging risk due to changes in government policy potentially leading to adverse impacts on our proposition and markets. However policy outcomes during the year, including the Access to Cash Review and the Payment Systems Regulator Market review into the supply of card acquiring services, have reduced this as a standalone risk and remaining risks are included under the Legal & Regulatory principal risk.

Climate risk
PayPoint recognises the impact climate change is having globally and that it presents a risk and uncertainty to our business. As last year, we still consider climate change to be an emerging risk rather an immediate principal risk. During the year we launched our net zero carbon strategy with the goal of becoming net zero in our own operations by 2030 and fully net zero by 2040. Details of how we plan to achieve this can be found in our 2022 Annual Report, which will be published in June 2022. We also implemented The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) which provides companies with a framework to improve reporting on climate-related risks and opportunities. Risks presented by climate change have been embedded into our enterprise risk management framework including financial planning processes, business cases and our overall risk identification and management processes detailed in the 2022 Annual Report.

The table below sets out our principal and emerging risks including details of the potential impact, mitigation strategies and status. The table also details risk movement during the year and risk appetite. They do not comprise all risks faced by the Group and are not set out in order of priority.

VIABILITY STATEMENT

In accordance with the 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code, the Directors have assessed the viability of the Group over a three-year period, taking account of the Group’s current financial and trading position, the principal risks and uncertainties (as set out in the table above) and the strategic plans that are reviewed at least annually by the Board.

The Directors have determined that the Group’s strategic planning period of three years remains an appropriate time frame over which to assess viability. This broadly aligns to average client renewal terms, new client prospecting and onboarding cycles and the development-through-to-maturity evolution of new products and service lines.

The starting point for the viability assessment is the strategic and financial plan which makes assumptions relating to the economic climate, market growth, cost inflation, the prospects of new products and services and past performance. This plan are then subject to a series of stress scenarios using input from business functions based on the potential materialisation of certain principal risks.

All the principal risks identified (which are set in the table above), including ESG, could have an impact on the Group’s performance. However, the main specific risks which could potentially and materially impact the Group together with the related scenario assumption are:

Principal risk 1: Competition and Markets:

• Failure to maintain significant client contracts resulting in 20% to 40% reduction in transaction volumes depending on the nature of the clients’ contract and

• Inadequate recruitment or excessive churn in the retail network and merchant estate resulting in a net annual churn of 10% in the estate (impacting service fees and card acquiring revenues).

Principal risks 3 and 10: Transformation and Operational Delivery:

• New products or services do not perform as anticipated and/or execution in their delivery limits contribution to 10% of expectations.
  
  

Principal risk 5: Legal and Regulatory:

• Fines / reputational damage amounting to £24 million (being 15% of turnover for violation of market abuse regulations)
  
  

Principal risks 6 and 7: Cyber Security and Business Interruption:

• The financial impact of technical failure from cyber-attacks resulting in a network outage and loss of revenue for up to seven days
  
  

Principal risk 8: Credit and Operational:

• Multiple retailer groups entering receivership assuming a 20% loss of client funds, where PayPoint is liable.
  
  

Financing facilities
The impacts of these scenarios were then reviewed against the Group’s current and projected future net cash/debt and liquidity position. The Group closed the financial year with net debt of £43.9m of which £21.7m is an amortising loan (repayable in quarterly installments of c£3m).

The Group had £48m of committed and unutilised debt facilities, consisting of a revolving credit facility syndicated across three banks. The Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) has two financial covenants, relating to interest cover and leverage (EBITDA to Net debt). The RCF expires in February 2025, with the assumption we will successfully refinance in advance of that date.

Result of stress tests
In the unusual set of circumstances of all the above significant scenarios occurring together the Group with no cost mitigations would still deliver positive EBITDA and remain within its financing facility covenants. The viability scenario also factors in reductions of taxation and dividends following the payment of the final dividend of 18.0p declared in respect of financial year ended 31 March 2022.

Under a viability scenario the Group would create a committee with a focus to actively preserve viability through containing and limiting further exposure. This committee would engage with key partners and suppliers to ensured continued support of key activities as well as to reduce operational activity and related costs to ensure the longer-term viability of the business.

Conclusion
Taking these results into account together with the Group’s current position, the Group’s experience of managing adverse conditions in the past and mitigating actions available to the Group, the Directors confirm that they have a reasonable expectation that the Group will be able to continue its operations, remain solvent and meet its liabilities as they fall due over the three-year viability period.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR LOSS

¹The prior year comparatives have been restated for the retrospective application of the Group’s change in accounting policy on intangible assets. Refer to note 1 and note 20.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

¹The prior year comparatives have been restated for the retrospective application of the Group’s change in accounting policy on intangible assets. Refer to note 1 and note 20.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

¹The prior year comparatives and beginning of the preceding period have been restated for the retrospective application of the Group’s change in accounting policy on intangible assets. Refer to note 1 and note 20. The prior year comparatives have also been restated for a retrospective measurement period adjustment to goodwill and inventories. Refer to note 10.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 25 May 2022 and were signed on behalf of the Board of Directors.
Nick Wiles
Chief Executive
25 May 2022

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY