The PayGroup Ltd (ASX: PYG) share price is rocky today after the payroll and human capital company announced its half-year results for the six months ended 30 September 2020.
In early trade, PayGroup shares rose 3.49% to 60 cents, before pulling back and losing ground to be in the red by lunch. The company's current market capitalisation is close to $43 million.
About PayGroup
PayGroup is a specialist provider of payroll and human capital management solutions, and is a holding company for brands such as PayAsia, TalentOz, and Astute One.
PayAsia provides software-with-a-service (SwaS) and payroll solutions. It enhances its offer to the market by using a cloud-based human capital management platform called TalentOz. Clients are multinational.
Astute One delivers workforce management solutions for complex businesses, with clients predominantly based in Australia and New Zealand.
PayGroup itself now has staff in 11 countries and services almost 1,000 clients.
Financial reports
In today's report, PayGroup reported revenue for the first half of FY21 of $6.8 million, up a staggering 100% on the second half of FY20. The company stated that this growth was largely driven by organic growth and acquisitions.
PayGroup also reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $1.6 million, compared to a loss of $1 million in the prior corresponding period.
Net profit after tax also represents a healthy turnaround for the company, going from a loss of $1.4 million in the prior corresponding period to a profit of $444,000.
Conditions and growth
Although PayGroup noted strong revenue growth and cost efficiencies as key drivers for the financial outcomes, other factors were also at play. It highlighted that JobKeeper also helped ease the burden in Australia, and other government incentives were noted to help in the Asia market.
The company also noted that during the time of the coronavirus pandemic, it continued to drive strong investment in both technology and staff.
Following a successful capital raise of $3.5 million in September 2020, PayGroup now has a cash balance of $5.2 million. The goal is to use these funds for further company expansion.
PayGroup has said that the outlook for the second half of FY21 is strong. It is currently completing another acquisition of Payroll HQ, with plans to capitalise on the strongly re-bounding Asia Pacific economies following COVID-19.
What did management have to say?
In the announcement, PayGroup's managing director Mark Samlal commented on the company's performance:
We have now transitioned our business to become a full-service provider of Human Capital Management and payroll services. This is opening up a significant number of new customer opportunities.
I am very pleased with the financial performance of PayGroup this half as we have reported a profitable period, supported by a strong and growing base of contract revenues. We expect continued growth in contracted sales and earnings as we see the full contribution from our acquisitions and the benefits from our enlarged customer base and addressable markets.
The PayGroup share price
The PayGroup share price recovered well following the March market crash, rebounding from lows of 43 cents to heights of 90 cents in just a few months. However, in the current financial year, the share price has been less than favourable for investors, falling more than 30% in less than 6 months.
Today, PayGroup shares rose immediately on the opening bell, however failed to keep their footing throughout morning trade. The PayGroup share price is currently trading at 58 cents, down 0.86%.
