CAB Payments shares plunge 60% four months after London IPO

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Shares in CAB Payments plunged by more than 60 per cent on Tuesday after the fintech warned on profits just four months since listing in London.

The company, which specialises in foreign exchange and payment services for businesses that send money to emerging markets, slashed its revenue forecast for the year by 17 per cent.

The warning alarmed investors and comes six weeks after the group reported that revenues for the third quarter rose 10 per cent. On Tuesday, CAB Payments blamed changes to market conditions in some of its key currency markets, including the Nigerian naira, for hitting its margins and denting volumes.

CAB Payments’ July float was a rare bright spot for the London stock market, which has struggled to attract IPOs. Excluding those for blank cheque vehicles, the IPO was London’s largest this year.

Shares in the fintech were down 64 per cent at 80p in early trading on Tuesday. They are down 84 per cent from their IPO price, giving the group a market capitalisation of £160mn.

Faced with a sharp deterioration in trading conditions, CAB Payments said it would implement unspecified “cost reduction measures and efficiencies” to cushion the impact on profits.

The company said it expected revenue in 2023 to be “at least 20 per cent” ahead of 2022’s levels, but that forecast is 17 per cent below its previous guidance.

CAB’s offering consisted entirely of a secondary selldown of existing shares held by Africa-focused private equity group Helios Investment Partners and other investors.