Finseta reports higher revenue, swings to annual loss

(Sharecast News) - Finseta reported higher annual revenue on Thursday, but swung to a loss as planned investment in international expansion, product development and sales capability weighed on profitability.

The AIM-traded foreign exchange and payments group said revenue rose 9% to �12.4m in the year ended 31 December, from �11.4m a year earlier, supported by growth in active customers and higher average revenue per customer.

Active customers increased to 1,101 from 1,059, while corporate customer revenue rose 54% as the group increased its focus on business-to-business payments.

Corporate clients accounted for 57% of revenue, up from 41% in 2024, offsetting reduced activity from high net worth individual clients amid weaker macroeconomic conditions.

Finseta said its Dubai operation delivered significant growth after the group received a Category 3D licence from the Dubai Financial Services Authority in March 2025 and opened a full-service office in the emirate.

The Dubai office is integrated with a local banking partner and offers digital multi-currency accounts and access to local payment rails.

The company also began trading in Canada during the year after receiving a Money Services Business licence, and said it continued to progress applications for regulatory permissions in other jurisdictions, including Europe.

Gross profit increased to �7.7m from �7.5m, although gross margin narrowed to 62.0% from 65.7% due to the higher proportion of corporate payments activity, which typically carries lower margins but greater recurrence.

Adjusted EBITDA fell to �0.2m from �2.0m, reflecting planned investment in strategic initiatives intended to broaden the group's capabilities and support medium-term growth.

Operating expenses rose to �8.9m from �6.3m, including investment in the sales team, compliance function, international expansion and technology platform.

Finseta reported an operating loss of �1.2m, compared with a �1.5m profit in 2024, while it swung to a pre-tax loss of �1.3m from a �1.4m profit.

The net loss was �1.1m, compared with a �1.0m profit a year earlier, and basic and diluted loss per share was 1.92p, compared with earnings per share of 1.74p and 1.66p respectively in 2024.

The group ended the year with cash and cash equivalents of �1.5m, down from �2.6m, and net debt of �0.3m, compared with net cash of �0.6m at the end of 2024.

After the year ended, Finseta raised �0.9m before expenses through a placing, subscription and retail offer to support its planned European expansion and wider growth strategy.

Operationally, Finseta said the implementation of UK agency banking during the third quarter was a significant milestone, allowing it to issue its own account numbers and sort codes and become indirectly connected to the Faster Payments System.

The company said the capability would allow it to onboard a wider range of customers and position itself as a primary payments provider.

The group also introduced a new client portal, added multi-layer authorisations and bespoke approval tools for corporate clients, and improved processing speed by more than 60%.

Its Finseta Corporate Card was launched during the year, although the company said uptake had been lower than expected and operational challenges with suppliers meant it was reviewing how best to provide the service.

Chief executive James Hickman said Finseta had delivered progress against its strategic and operational goals, "most notably with the ramp up of our operation in Dubai and completing the implementation of UK agency banking".

"Our increased focus on our business-to-business offering resulted in strong growth with corporate customers - and this momentum has been sustained into the current year, including attracting larger corporates that have more complex requirements," he said.

Finseta said current trading had seen continued growth in customer acquisition and good traction with corporate customers. Momentum in Dubai had continued into 2026, supported by an expanded sales team and the post-year-end receipt of a Retail Endorsement from the DFSA, allowing the group to provide payment services to retail clients.

The board said it remained confident that the investments made during 2025 would support accelerated revenue growth and increased profitability in the medium term.

The company said it would hold its annual general meeting in London on 30 June.

At 1146 BST, shares in Finseta were down 0.29% at 8.73p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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