The QuickFee Ltd (ASX: QFE) share price has plunged by 9.76% at the time of writing, following the release of a business update by the company this morning.
What was in the announcement?
According to the announcement, payment solutions provider QuickFee saw record results in both the US and Australia in the final quarter of the 2020 financial year, with strong momentum moving into the 2021 financial year.
QuickFee reported that lending in the US market increased by 71% in the final quarter of the 2020 financial year versus the final quarter of the 2019 financial year, with lending totalling US$3.9 million. Lending for the financial year was up by 63% to US$13 million on the final quarter FY19. US transaction volume in the final quarter of FY20 also increased 154% on the prior corresponding period, lifting to US$136.9 million.
The company also reported that lending in Australia for FY20 rose by 17% to $49.3 million, which represents a record for the company.
According to the announcement, 88 new firms in the US signed up over the quarter, a 300% increase over the same quarter last year.
The company stated that it was well positioned for continued strong growth in the US and Australia heading into the 2021 financial year.
Commenting on the results, QuickFee CEO Bruce Coombes said:
We continue to be very encouraged by the traction we are achieving in the US. The third consecutive quarter of record lending reflects a very strong uptake of our product by US accounting and law firms, and with continued growth in new firm sign-ups, we expect this momentum to accelerate.
Transactional volumes exploded in the US over the fourth quarter, with COVID-19 benefiting QuickFee by forcing many firms and clients to embrace online payments. Our view is that this transition to online payments will continue in the US, where until now online payments for accounting firms have not been widely used. This represents an exciting area of growth for QuickFee as we look forward.
About the QuickFee share price
QuickFee offers a payment platform for professional services firms, allowing clients to pay by instalment while allowing the firms to receive payment in full. In this way, it works largely in the same way as a buy now, pay later provider such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), by allowing clients of professional services firms to receive services now, and pay later. Along with its operations in Australia, it entered the US in 2016, where it has no direct competitor.
QuickFee successfully raised $7.5 million in May at a price of 21 cents per share. This has been used to increase the size of its loan book and to improve its payment technology.
In June, QuickFee announced that lifetime bad debts since 2009 have been $60,000 against $250 million in lending.
The QuickFee share price is up 469% from its 52 week low of $0.13 cents. It has increased 117.6% since the beginning of the year. The QuickFee share price is up 48% versus this time last year.
