The UK’s leading payment collection network PayPoint (LSE: PAY) has enjoyed spectacular growth since its debut on the London Stock Exchange back in 2004, during which time revenues have more than tripled to £213m, along with a fivefold increase in the share price over the same period. Few long-term investors will have cause for complaint as unlike most classic growth shares, PayPoint has been rewarding its loyal shareholders with generous levels of dividend income, gradually increasing payouts each year to reflect the company’s continued success.
Innovation is the key
The mid-cap support services firm recently announced its new retailer terminal ‘PayPoint One’, designed to help retailers run their whole store from one device. This next generation platform will gradually replace PayPoint’s existing second generation terminal after 12 successful years of use. The new terminal will combine Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS), card payments and PayPoint services in a single platform, with features that include quick payments with integrated Apple Pay and Android Pay to improve customer experience and reduce queue times.
PayPoint certainly recognises that innovation is the key to staying relevant, and the new terminal should put the firm in a strong position in the retail technology market. Management sees ‘PayPoint One’ as a key component of its future growth strategy, which together with its multichannel payments solution, MultiPay, should help the company to deliver continued earnings growth and a progressive dividend over the coming years. At current levels the shares look attractive for dividend investors looking for generous levels of income above 5%, with the promise of further growth to come.
Improved outlook
Unlike PayPoint, global technology company Laird (LSE: LRD) has seen its shares underperform this year, as the market sees very little in the way of earnings growth in 2016. The FTSE 250 constituent revealed a mixed set of numbers earlier this year when it announced its interim results for the six months to the end of June. Although revenue came in 15% higher than the first half of 2015 at £352.5m, operating profit was substantially lower at £21.1m, some 31% below the same period last year.
The mid-cap technology firm cited challenges in its connected car solutions business Novero and its Wireless Automation and Control Solutions (WACS) business as the main reasons for lower profitability in the first half of 2016. With management keen to address these challenges, actions are already in place to tackle the issues in order to improve performance for the second half of the year, and beyond.
Indeed, broker estimates point to an improved outlook with a return to double-digit earnings growth for 2017, with further dividend growth expected for the foreseeable future. With Laird’s shares trading at a lowly 12 times earnings for 2017, and offering a prospective yield above 4%, now could be a good time to grab a slice of this technology business and reap the rewards of long-term dividend growth.
