ISX Financial EU Plc has disclosed why it halted plans to go public last year through an initial public offering (IPO) despite turning in a 171% year-over-year (YoY) growth in profit after tax with an increase of 20% in revenue. The figures reached €3.7 million and €27.4 million, respectively, during the fiscal year ended December 31.

ISX Cites ‘Worsening Market’ for IPO Delay

ISX Financial, a Europe-centric provider of payment, e-money and identity solutions, operates brands such as Flykk, iSXPay and Paydentity. The company serves customers in the gaming, forex and contracts for difference, banking, credit union and eCommerce industries.

However, ISX Financial halted its IPO plans in 2022 due to ‘continued worsening market conditions'. Christakis Taoushanis, the company’s Non-Executive Chairman, noted that the firm’s directors decided the year was not ‘the right time’ to seek admission to a stock exchange via an IPO due to significant declines in the stock prices of many growth and technology companies during the period.

In October 2021, ISX Financial completed its demerger from Australian financial services company, Southern Cross Payments, ending the year with an increase of 4.1% in revenue. At the time, Taoushanis said that the company was “committed to exploring all opportunities to find a new exchange on which we can list the company’s securities.”

However, despite shelving the plan last year, Taoushanis noted that the firm still has its eyes set on going public. He explained: “the Group continues to prepare for the IPO primarily through building and expanding the business while maintaining profitability.”

“In 2023, the Group in conjunction with our prospective sponsor broker will continue to monitor market conditions for IPOs,” Taoushanis said in ISX Financial’s fiscal year 2022 results released on Friday.

ISX Financial Sees Strong Open Banking Demand

Meanwhile, during the last quarter of the fiscal year 2022, ISX Financial reported strong demand for its open banking payment services, with the total value of all transactions processed reaching €134.4 million. This represents a jump of 103% quarter-over-quarter and 600% YoY.

“This strong growth affirms our ability to capitalize on emerging trends in the financial industry,” ISX Financial noted in a statement.

Furthermore, the company said its cash at bank figure rose approximately €1 million despite investing € 0.9 million in the National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSX) and repaying €1.5 million in convertible notes.

Moreover, in its first quarter of 2023 unaudited results released in mid-April, ISX Financial said it generated a profit of €1.4 million, minus costs related to its NSX investment. Furthermore, the company established a branch in Israel and received authorization to extend its services to Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) Direct Debit in Lithuania.