UK's PayPoint is sure in its further growth

PayPoint Plc, an electronic payments firm whose services include bill payment terminals and ATM machines, reported a 19 % increase in like-for-like pretax profit and said it was confident of opportunities for further growth in the coming year. The firm said pretax profit for the year ending March 29 was 35 million pounds ($56.1 million), on revenues 7 % higher at 224 million pounds. The company's bill and general payments business -- which accounts for 44 % of revenue -- remained robust as consumer discretion in expenditure was limited. Over the last year PayPoint has expanded its bill payment services to Romania and launched Collect+, a joint venture with parcel courier Home Delivery Network to use PayPoint's network of retailers as parcel drop-off and collection points. "We are confident that further opportunities remain for future growth through market share gains, new initiatives and new products," chairman David Newlands said in a statement, adding that the company planned to add 2,400 new terminals in the UK and Romania over the coming year. But analyst Keith Ashworth-Lord at WH Ireland said the company's actions suggested there was little room for further growth in its existing market. Shares in PayPoint -- which also announced a final dividend of 11.6 pence, up from 10.4 pence last year -- were up 0.3 % at 456 pence by 1011 GMT. The wider FTSE 250 index for mid-caps was down 1.2 %.