- Company primarily involved in currency exchange and cross-border payments for private and corporate clients
- Investments in IT systems, marketing and overseas expansion resulted in pre-tax profits of nearly $8.5m (£6m)
- Significant key performance indicators include revenue, income and total equity growth
Leading international payments provider Currencies Direct has just released their annual report for the fiscal year ending 30 June 2017. The report was compiled by the company's board of directors and confirmed by independent auditors with PricewaterhouseCoopers of London.
The company's principal activities over the course of the fiscal year of 2017 included providing clients with foreign currency exchange services and a platform for international money transfers.
Revenue increased to $44.15m (£31.51m), up from $36.68m (£26.18m) in 2016. This increase is attributed to investments and improvements in the company’s IT systems and infrastructure, marketing, sales and expansion into overseas markets.
Administrative costs saw a slight increase to $30.26m (£21.5m), up from $24.14m (£17.64m). Officials say higher costs reflect greater spending on IT. The additional cost has been interpreted as beneficial for the company at large.
Currencies Direct also reported a profit of $8.06m (£5.75m) before tax. The company's total equity grew to $20.62m (£14.71m) last year, a significant increase over the $13.5m (£9.64m) in equity reported for the 2016 fiscal year. According to the report, this additional equity was achieved primarily through earnings retention.
The company's balance sheet remains strong and the board reports satisfaction with the company's performance in 2017, saying their accounting is in line with its projected annual budget and strategic three-year plan.
In acquisitions, Currencies Direct gained $10.40m (£7.42m) by acquiring 100% of the issued share capital from E4F Forex Ltd., a South African currency exchange platform. The move significantly grew the market share of Currencies Direct in the South African remittances sector.
Key performance indicators all demonstrated growth during the 2017 fiscal year. These included revenue and income growth as well as total equity growth. A dedicated management team is assigned to each income stream and region the company serves, using more detailed data sets to measure performance in each area.
Principal risks outlined in the annual report include:
- Operational risks
- Currency risks
- Credit risks
- Liquidity risks
These key risk factors are mitigated by a number of policies and procedures designed to protect Currencies Direct, its clients and stakeholders from undue exposure to operational issues, currency fluctuations and credit exposure.
To protect against liquidity, the company reports sufficient working capital to cover significant events and maintains relationships with several global financial institutions to provide independent currency streams.
Overall, company directors have a positive outlook for Currencies Direct as the 2018 fiscal year progresses and expects strong, continued growth in the UK and international markets.
Currencies Direct is headquartered in the UK and has branches in China, France, Japan, Portugal and Spain, with support services based in India and trading subsidiaries in South Africa and the United States.
