Newly listed Harvest Technology posts €2m profit after tax in 2019

Harvest Technology plc, the IT, security and electronic payments group which listed on the Malta Stock Exchange last December, has posted a net profit of €2,088,772 after tax for the year ended 31 December 2019, up from €580,676 in 2018.

Last year, the group registered revenues of €16 million (2018: €15.6 million) resulting in an operating profit of €3.2 million, a marked increase on 2018 (€967,412). EBITDA almost tripled to €3.9 million from the previous year’s €1.4 million.

Harvest Technology comprises IT solutions provider PTL Ltd, automation and security company APCO Ltd, and payment solutions specialist APCO Systems Ltd. The group’s portfolio of businesses delivers impactful, intuitive solutions to customers operating in sectors like banking, aviation, pharmaceuticals, energy and state agencies in Malta, and internationally electronic transactions, retail automation, and border security.

The group is part of 1923 Investments plc, which last December disposed of part of its holding in Harvest Technology through an initial public offering. Harvest Technology’s results exceed the projections of the IPO’s prospectus both for the year ending 31 December 2019 and Q1 2020.

The unaudited consolidated net profit before tax of the Harvest Group in Q1 2020 was €835,000, an improvement of 25% on the budget projection for Q1 (€668,000) which constituted the first quarter of the annual projected consolidated Net Profit Before Tax of €3,124,000 for 2020 as detailed in the prospectus in November 2019.

During the year, Harvest Technology paid a net interim dividend of €950,000 (€0.0417 per share (2018: €750,000 equivalent to €0.0329 per share) to the shareholders prior to the IPO. The directors have proposed a further net dividend of €410,051 (€0.018 per share) to be paid on or around 15 May 2020, to all its shareholders included in the Shareholders’ Register of the company as at April 30, 2020. This, with the interim dividend paid during the year, will be put forward for approval at the next Annual General Meeting to be held once the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.