Cardpoint profits soar

Cardpoint profits soar

UK independent ATM operator Cardpoint is reporting 203% increase in full year turnover to £36.8 million, up from £12.2 million last year, while profits before tax and goodwill soared to £1.8 million compared to just £500,000 last year.

Cardpoint shares rose almost six pence to 115 pence on the results in morning trading.

The firm, which charges a fee for withdrawing cash at its ATMS, says its now operates 2800 cash machines located at off-site locations - such as petrol and railway stations - which dispense more than £300m each month.

The company also operates 4000 mobile phone top-up terminals located in convenience stores and off licences which sell more than £7m of airtime monthly. Cardpoint says its has begun rolling out a mobile top-up services across its ATMS following recent trials of the system.

Cardpoint acquired 816 off-site machines from HBOS for £75m in May this year. The company says it has started converting some of the machines to its fee-paying model and eventually 250 units will charge customers around £1.60 for making cash withdrawals.

Robin Gregson, finance director, Cardpoint, says company's success proves "that our customers are happy to pay a modest charge to enable them to withdraw cash from convenient locations".

The issue of fee-charging cash machines has been raised in the House of Commons by MP James Plaskitt who has called for the industry to adopt an enforceable code of practice for cash machine operators.

The UK's Nationwide Building Society, which has actively campaigned for clearer labelling of fee-charging ATMs, has urged the industry to accept and introduce a code of practice for cash machine operators in order to avoid government-imposed regulations.

Recent research conducted by the Nationwide shows that five years ago virtually all ATMs in the UK were free, but now more than a third charge a fee for cash withdrawals.

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