Harvest Technology plc - Full-Year Results

On 13 April 2023, Harvest Technology plc published the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022.

Performance Overview

Revenue increased by 3.4% to €16.3 million mostly driven by the higher amount of goods sold (+€2.9 million) and maintenance, support and servicing (+€0.7 million), which offset the lower turnover from payment gateway services (-€2.3 million) and the provision of consulting services and development (-€0.78 million).

On the expenditure side, total operating costs (net of other income) surged by 21.8% to €13.4 million. Given the sharper increase in operating costs in absolute terms than the increase in revenue, operating profit declined by 47.8% to €2.09 million (2021: €4.01 million). Excluding depreciation and amortisation charges, EBITDA contracted by 39.3% to €2.88 million, which translates to an EBITDA margin of 17.7% compared to 30.2% in 2021.

After accounting for minimal net finance costs, Harvest recorded a pre-tax profit of €2.06 million compared to €4 million in 2021, and also lower than the projected pre-tax profit target of €3 million published in June 2022. Overall, Harvest posted a net profit of €1.34 million (2021: €2.69 million) which translates into a return on average equity of 9.94% (2021: 21.2%).

The Statement of Financial Position as at 31 December 2021 shows that total assets dropped by 6.1% to €21.2 million whilst total liabilities fell by 17.2% to €7.64 million. Overall, the company’s equity base expanded by 1.5% to €13.6 million.

Dividend

The Directors of Harvest resolved to distribute a final net dividend of €0.005 per share to all shareholders as at the close of trading on 20 April 2023, payable on 5 May 2023. Coupled with the interim dividends paid out in August 2022 (€0.02 per share) and December 2022 (€0.01 per share), the total dividend attributable to FY2022 amounts to €0.035 per share which is 42% lower than the previous year.

Outlook

The Directors explained that in 2023 the Group plans to intensify efforts to invest further in its payment gateway and to offer new products and services to clients. Harvest’s payment gateway – ApcoPay – is undergoing significant investment to upgrade the system to a cloud-based gateway to allow business to scale significantly and offer new features and products which are required for iGaming clients. Meanwhile, Apco Limited is exploring new opportunities to expand within the electric vehicle charging market and unmanned aerial vehicles. In this respect, contracts in excess of €1 million have already been awarded. PTL is focusing on expanding its service offering both locally and internationally.

The Chairman explained that on the back of the strong financial position of Harvest, which is free from any borrowings, the Group will consider investing in proprietary intellectual property and innovative ventures to expanding into new markets. Harvest will also evaluate strategic investments to strengthen the position of each subsidiary.