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Smoove PLC on Monday reported a widened annual loss despite a double-digit rise in revenue.
Smoove was formerly known as ULS Technology before it rebranded and changed its name earlier this year. The Thame, Oxfordshire-based company provides online services for conveyancing and financial intermediary markets and is best known for its conveyancer comparison platform eConveyancer.
For the financial year that ended on March 31, Smoove posted a 13% increase in revenue to £19.2 million from £16.9 million the year before.
The rise ‘reflects strong growth in broker channel, progress in developing core business and exposure to a buoyant housing market’, the company explained.
Pretax loss, however, more than doubled to £5.4 million from £2.4 million, as administrative expenses rose by 35% to £12.6 million from £9.3 million the year before.
Loss before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation amounted to £3.8 million compared to a profit of £400,000 the year before, reflecting ‘investment in the core eConveyancer business and in new product areas’, Smoove said.
Operating loss widened to £4.8 million from £2.4 million.
Chief Executive Jesper With-Fogstrup said: ‘The investment we have made in eConveyancer, including fully integrating the DigitalMove offering, has allowed us to further grow routes to market and consolidated our position as one of the leading conveyancing platforms in the UK.’
Smoove also on Monday announced a planned return of capital to shareholders via a tender offer of up to £5.0 million, expected to be completed during October. It had net cash of £20.0 million on March 31, down from £24.0 million a year before. It has no borrowings.
‘Our proposal to return capital to shareholders will allow us to create value for investors while at the same time ensuring we retain funds to continue to invest in the technology and business developments required to deliver our strategy,’ With-Fogstrup explained.
Smoove said conveyancing completions in the period grew by 11% to 37,104 from 33,543 the year before.
Looking ahead, the company said it is ‘ideally placed to take a leading role’ in its market and ‘optimistic’ given the progress in the last 12 months.
Shares were down 0.5% at 59.70 pence each on Monday morning in London.
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