(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors)Global payments company Earthport (LON:EPO) achieved cash-flow break-even in several months of the second half of its financial year. Though it has achieved what is seen as a crucial milestone for many growth companies the company which is sitting on more than £30mln in cash has decided to accelerate the pace of investment in view of the 'size and visibility of opportunities' open to it as it increasingly becomes the default choice for cross-border payments. In a trading update covering the year to the end of June Earthport revealed revenue increased by more than 78% from the year before to at least £19.25mln. Some of that revenue growth was accounted for by acquisitions but on a like-for-like basis revenue growth was still eye-catching at more than 55% while gross margin held steady at more than 77%. The company said it signed 31 customers during the year including heavy hitters such as HSBC Santander and Standard Chartered while 22 customers went live. On top of that the pipeline is looking healthy with Earthport vouching that 'the size and potential volume from new business is growing reflecting the acceptance of Earthport as industry standard'. "We are pleased and enthusiastic about the acceptance of the Earthport payment network as a truly valuable and innovative solution in the massive payments market' said Hank Uberol chief executive of Earthport. 'Our proven product offering combined with our industry position world-class clients and an experienced and talented leadership team has placed us in the strongest position we have ever been. We are strongly focused on the medium and long term prospects for Earthport which we believe are very significant" Uberol added. Broker N+1 Singer said revenue of at least £19.25mln was broadly in line with expectations. 'Earthport is seeing increased traction with both high quality clients and relevant financial regulators which combined with cash balances of over £30mln should give investors increasing confidence over the credibility and long term direction of the group' the broker said. 'Growth in short term volumes is likely to remain largely beyond management's control; however we believe that investor focus has to be on long term value creation' N+1 Singer said. Joint house broker Panmure Gordon stuck with its 61p price target and said fiscal 2015 was another year of real operational progress. 'The business pipeline is strong with increasing embedded value well beyond the current revenue run rate as Earthport becomes the accepted international payments solution for banks and other institutions' Panmure's Keith Baird said. 'Having proved its concept Earthport is accelerating investment in building up its franchise globally in hiring and building out its international reach to Asia Latam and Middle East/Africa. Current cash resources are more than sufficient to cover these increased investment needs' Baird observed. Shares in Earthport rose 1.35 to 40p on the results.
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