BPS TECHNOLOGY FOCUSES ON A BIG YEAR AHEAD

HIGHER costs took some shine off BPS Technology's (ASX:BPS) record year of sales, but the company is forecasting a revenue surge in the current year following a 'transformative' acquisition this month.

The Gold Coast-based operator of the Bartercard trade exchange posted a net profit of $7.34 million, down 6 per cent from a year earlier.

This is despite a 4 per cent increase in revenue to $50.2million, leading to a 3 per cent increase in gross revenue to $38.6 million.

The company, which has been driving a global expansion of Bartercard system in recent years, says costs associated with bolstering its sales force had impacted on the FY16 result.

The company secured a number of deals during the year, most notably an agreement with online retail giant Alibaba partner SmartTrans Holdings (ASX: SMA) to give it preferential entry into China for Bartercard's Australian members.

Last month it raised $27.5million from institutional investors to fund the $25 million acquisition of Entertainment Publications, a business-to-consumer (B2C) deals platform.

BPS chief executive Trevor Dietz has forecast company revenue will surge 118 per cent to $109 million in FY17 following that deal.

"The full-year result reflects continued growth in our Bartercard business along with promising development in the rollout of bucqi, our loyalty and payments platform," says Dietz.

"We are excited about the new growth we can drive across our business lines as we pursue the integration of Entertainment, bucqi and Bartercard, and look forward to continuing to deliver value to BPS shareholders."

BPS is paying a final dividend of 2c per share, taking the full-year dividend to 4c per share. It has forecast a full-year payout of 5c a share in FY17.