Despite a restricted society, caused by prevailing circumstances, our revenue improved by 13 % during the second quarter compared to the same period last year. This increase is attributed to our recurring revenues and expanding business portfolio. I am impressed with the determination and motivation of the entire team at Westpay that made this happen. But make no mistake, I am in no way satisfied with our achievements. I have much higher expectations for Westpay when we can operate on markets with less pandemic restrictions. During the second quarter, we haven’t lost any deals in our books, and I remain confident that we will realize this potential in coming quarters.
If you follow us, you know that we have special focus on two key objectives: gross margin and recurring revenue. I am happy to say that these key performance indicators continue to speak in our favour. With a record gross margin of 72 % and stable growth of our recurring revenues, we have a good position for profitable growth once restrictions in our society are removed.
Notwithstanding the head wind we are experiencing, the expanded strategy we established last year is starting to pay off. I am delighted by the volume and mix of merchants and partners we are attracting
During this quarter, we managed to sign several new POS partners in Sweden, Norway and Finland. These together with the partners we already have in place, we are gradually reaching a strong market position in the Nordics. The rest of this year and well into the next will be all about execution. We have a clear understanding of how to identify and reach our captured market. Sushi Yama, Ribhouse, Lekia, Elon, and other signed merchants have one thing in common: we have a close partnership with their POS supplier. I am optimistic that these merchants will all be helpful as strong positive ambassadors in our dialogues with other merchants.
Another important aspect of our expanded strategy is the change of our revenue mix. Having a closer business relationship to the merchants is a key enabler for growth in rental and transaction revenues. Partly driven by the pandemic, alternative payment methods are emerging. With our role in the payment ecosystem, we are well positioned to generate revenues from processing these alternative payments. This development will continue, and I believe that transaction revenues increasingly will become an integral part of our business model.
Our effort continues in South Africa. Due to major domestic obstacles in South Africa on top of the pandemic, the progress is slowed down. We are monitoring their development, and hopefully, for many reasons, they will soon be in a position where society is back to normal.
I am a firm believer that a variety of experts and personas makes the best team. Therefore I am really glad to have Annika Fagerlund joining our board. She brings a vast amount of experience from organizational development and the financial industry that will serve as a great complement to our existing team. We have also continued to expand our technology team at our development hub in Sri Lanka. Now our capacity has more than doubled. The whole team is really first class!
We are not standing still and waiting for the world to change. Instead, we continue our efforts sprung from a carefully made and well thought through plan. So when it does change we are prepared. We have a great line-up and a qualified strategy. Patience and focus will take us where we want to be. And that’s up in the front.
Best regards/ Sten Karlsson, CEO at Westpay AB
Publisert juli 29, 2021