Aquis Exchange PLC (LON:AQX) today provided a trading update for the first half of the year ending 31 December 2024.

In the six months ended 30 June 2024, net revenue increased 3.5% to £10.0 million (H1 23: £9.7m).

Cash and cash equivalents amounted to £14.5 million (H1 23: £13.9m).

Aquis Technologies’ contract pipeline has grown very strongly. Aquis Data saw revenues grow 17.0% as member data fees come into effect.

Aquis Technologies, where Aquis licenses its leading exchange related technology to a variety of international financial services clients across different asset classes, has continued to build on its strong pipeline of potential new contracts as reported at the time of the full year results in March 2024 and this now stands at the largest in the division’s history.

In order to capitalise on the number and scale of new opportunities Aquis Technologies is assessing, the Board has decided to accelerate its programme of strategic investment in the division.

Aquis intends to invest an additional £6.2m over the next three financial years, of which approximately £0.3m will be expensed in 2024, on the build-out of a set of key products required to service the target accessible market.

Whilst Aquis continues to be well positioned to address the substantial market opportunity for exchange technology solutions, and the contract pipeline has grown strongly in the half year, Aquis was informed on 27 August 2024 that a historical contract for a start-up exchange will not be renewed. This will reduce by approximately £1m the net revenue and profit before tax which Aquis had previously expected to be recorded from that renewal in the year ending 31 December 2024.

The division is focused on converting its strong pipeline to secure its revised expectations for the current financial year.