The mobile payments company Pushpay has almost doubled its full year profit, as donations surged on its platform during the pandemic.
Pushpay provides mobile donation services to churches and charities in North America (File image). Photo: 123RF
The New Zealand-owned, US-based company's net profit for the year ended March rose by 95 percent to $42.9 million.
Pushpay provides mobile donation services to churches and charities in North America.
Revenue rose by 39 percent to $249m, as the money processed on its platforms increased by $2.6 billion to $9.8b for the period.
Pushpay chief executive Molly Matthews said the strong result reflects the value of its services, and the ability of its staff to adapt to the disruption brought by the pandemic.
"The company welcomed many new customers, successfully realised strategic cross-selling opportunities within the customer base and achieved operational efficiencies across the combined business," she said.
Over the year, Pushpay staff numbers reduced by 12 percent to 405 as staff left. The company had been slow to replace them as it brought its staff in New Zealand and the US under one leadership structure.
In its interim report, the company said it had indirectly benefited from Covid-19, as the lockdowns restricted in-person church congregations, which placed more emphasis on live streamed services and digital donations.
As restrictions around large gatherings were relaxed in the US, and churches resumed normal congregations, the company said it had not seen a meaningful rise in physical donations.
Pushpay said this indicated the sector had undergone a transformative shift and the growth in its customer base would continue, albeit at a slower rate.
The momentum from the current financial year (FY21) was expected to flow on through to the current financial year, as the company issued an underlying profit guidance of between $88m and $93.5m.
One area it is looking to target is the Catholic faith in the US, which is estimated to have 17,000 parishes across the country.
It had already entered into a trial with the Archdiocese of Chicago and expected to invest between $8m and $11m in further expansion over the coming year.
"The company expects the benefits from the Catholic segment to be realised incrementally over the course of the following financial years," it said.
In March, Pushpay's cornerstone investor, Christopher & Banks V Limited, sold its 15.5 percent stake in the company to the global investment firm, Sixth Street, for about $320m.