Photo-Me beams over a successful six months as investment in new areas pays off
Photo-Me International is all smiles after it outperformed in its half-year results.
The figures
The photo booth operator’s revenue grew to £110.6m, up 19.2 per cent, or £96.5m at constant currency, up four per cent.
Pre-tax profits increased 20.2 per cent to £31m, while rising to £26.9m, up 4.3 per cent at constant currency.
As of October, the group had 46,760 units, up 3.4 per cent from last year. Photo booths account for 60 per cent of all the group’s machines.
The UK contributed 23 per cent group revenue and 15 per cent of operating profit, both down two per cent from last year as it expands more in Continental Europe, Asia and the rest of the world.
Why it’s interesting
Photo-Me is working to diversify from its photo booths mainstay by developing new products and technologies.
The owner of Britain’s Fowler laundry service is rapidly expanding its laundry division in Continental Europe and is on track to deliver 6,000 owned and operated laundry units by 2020.
The company’s photo ID business is working to develop new secure technology for government use as well as new secure forms of payment, and John Lewis, non-executive chairman says the company is “strongly positioned” to become an industry leader in security operations.
The acquisition of Asda’s photo division was completed in October, and Photo-Me is upgrading its equipment to increase appeal for customers.
Read more: Photo-Me picks up after period of tough trading
What Photo-Me said
The company’s earnings reflect its investment in new products, the acceleration in the growth of the laundry business and currency benefits, said John Lewis, non-executive chairman.
The group’s performance for the first half was ahead of the board expectations and the board therefore now expects the group’s profits will significantly exceed current market expectations for the financial period ending 30 April 2017.