Spenda Accelerates Growth with Loan Book Sale and $3M Facility, Eyes Record Q4

Strong Financial Performance Amid Strategic Asset Sale

Spenda Limited (ASX:SPX) has delivered a compelling quarter ending March 2025, with cash receipts from customers reaching $2.37 million, marking a 160% increase compared to the same period last year. This growth comes despite a 35% quarter-on-quarter decline, primarily due to the deliberate sale of its invoice finance loan book, a move aimed at derisking and recapitalizing the business.

The sale, completed on 14 March 2025, transferred the loan book assets to Grapple Invoice Finance Fund Pty Ltd for a total consideration of $2 million, structured with an initial payment and deferred installments. This transaction not only returned approximately $2.3 million in committed first loss capital to Spenda but also reduced monthly gross profit by around $50,000, an impact expected to be offset by operational cost savings and staff reductions.

Operational Highlights and Project Progress

Beyond financial restructuring, Spenda has made significant strides in its core projects. The rollout of Capricorn’s SwiftStatement program continues, with enhancements such as self-service onboarding reducing setup times to about 30 minutes and scaling installation capacity to roughly 2,000 jobs per week. While adoption has been slower than anticipated, the company has responded by adding new features and AI capabilities to accelerate customer acquisition.

Similarly, the Carpet Court Statement of Environment (SOE) project has expanded its feature set to include comprehensive customer, supplier, inventory, and accounting management tools. This broad functionality aims to digitize franchisee operations and is slated for wider implementation throughout the remainder of 2025.

Spenda’s collaboration with Fresh Supply Co on AI-driven invoice capture and processing technologies further positions the company to enhance its software offerings and commercial prospects. Meanwhile, the AirPlus virtual card program continues to generate high-margin revenues, with plans to expand this service now that the loan book sale has been finalized.

Financial Position and Future Outlook

At quarter-end, Spenda held $1.25 million in cash and cash equivalents and has secured a $3 million term loan facility from Capricorn Society Limited, providing flexible drawdown options and secured against specific intellectual property. Despite a rise in operating costs due to one-off legal and compliance expenses totaling approximately $450,000, the company maintains a normalized operating cost base of around $1 million per month.

Looking ahead, Spenda forecasts a record quarter in Q4 FY25, anticipating cash receipts of approximately $4 million based on strong April performance. This would bring FY25 cash receipts to an estimated $12 million, representing a remarkable 120% annual growth. The company also plans to accelerate adoption of its SwiftStatement program, expand virtual card services, and continue the commercial rollout of its SOE platform.

Governance and Strategic Considerations

Post-quarter, Spenda experienced board changes with the resignation of Non-Executive Directors Andrew Kernan and David Laird. The impact of these departures on strategic direction remains to be seen. Additionally, the company incurred a $250,000 break fee related to the early termination of its previous credit facility, a cost linked to the loan book sale.

Spenda’s achievement of ISO 27001 certification, alongside maintaining SOC 2 and PCI compliance, strengthens its security posture and market credibility, particularly among larger strategic customers and partners. This certification is expected to be a competitive differentiator as the company scales its integrated software and payment solutions.