Eckoh sees momentum return in Q2

Secure payments provider Eckoh said on Monday that momentum had returned in the second quarter, helping the group trade in line with expectations for the first half.

While Eckoh acknowledged that the three months ended 30 June was "unsurprisingly challenging" as far as new business was concerned, the company stated momentum started to pick up in the second quarter, most notably in its US cloud business.

The AIM-listed group highlighted that it locked in new secure payment contracts in the US worth $5.9m during the first half of the trading year, down from $7.3m a year earlier.

Total revenues were said to be "slightly lower" year-on-year, principally due to an expected decline in its US Support business from $2.8m to $1.1m and the initial revenue impact on its UK business from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Eckoh's US secure payments division enjoyed "significant growth" of 80% during the half, reflecting demand driven by the long-term structural drivers of tightening regulation, while in the UK, both new and total business was higher than last year, with total business contracted increasing 8% to £8.6m.

As of 0830 GMT, Eckoh shares were down 3.72% at 64.51p.