Mobile payment specialist Proxama (LON:PROX) expects both arms of its business to make a gross profit in the current year despite higher losses in 2014.
Heavy investment caused the deficit to rise to an underlying £5.6mln (£3.1mln) in 2014, though this was less than management expected.
Revenues were flat at £0.8mln reflecting Proxama still being in its early stages of development.
The group said, however, that 2014 had been a watershed for contactless payment with Apple’s decision to include the NFC standard in its iPhone 6 and to launch its own contactless system, Apple Pay.
As a result, the last quarter of 2014 saw Proxama’s own customers and partners markedly strengthen their mobile payment functions ahead of this year.
In payments, revenues are expected to grow significantly following the recent acquisition of Aconite and through more marketing activities, new products and a beefed up sales force on the East and West Coasts of the US and Canada.
The group added it wants to open at least two new additional geographic markets.
Proxama also expects costs savings of £1.5mln through synergies with US-focused Aconite and with these expects to payments show a trading profit before overheads by the end of 2015.
In proximity marketing, the targets are for the number of bluetooth beacons, which register when a person passes close by on the High Street for example, to rise to 10,000, 20 new customers to be added to its network and expansion into more UK cities.
Again, as with the payments arm, Proxama expects marketing to make a gross profit by the end of 2015.
Cash balances at end December were £5.5mln.