ASX Quarterlies: A strong quarter from these cannabis, gaming and fintech stocks

It’s quarterlies season again as the ASX market announcements page becomes increasingly flooded with earnings lodgements.

This will be the last batch of the reporting season.

To save you the trouble of trudging through it all, we’ve wrapped up the highlights from some of the reports that caught our eye.

Propell Holdings (ASX:PHL)

The SME fintech lender saw its customers on the platform grow by 360% on pcp, and 10% QoQ.

Lending originations increased by 36% on pcp, while the average loan size has ballooned by 175% on pcp.

On the revenue side, receipts from customers were up 64% on pcp, and 48% on QoQ.

Propell’s focus during the quarter was on fund-raising activities and optimisation of its cost structure – to ensure it is well positioned moving forward.

The company undertook equity convertible note raising in quarter, and increased its wholesale loan facility from $5m to $7.5m. Wholesale borrowing costs meanwhile have come down (from 13% to 11.5%).

The business also embarked on a cost-cutting initiative, leading to reductions across a number of areas, including local teams.

These changes have led to a 43% reduction in full-time headcount, ensuring a significant reduction of staffing cost and a more sustainable structure.

Advertising costs were also reduced by 63% on pcp and 46% on QoQ.

As a result, lending margins have improved during the quarter to 24% in weighted average customer pricing.

Propell held cash on hand of approximately $1.049m at 30 September.

Fatfish Group (ASX:FFG)

During the quarter, FFG’s cash receipt increased 25%, from $780,000 to $974,000.

Net cash used in operating activities was approximately $447k, substantively unchanged compared to the previous quarter of $446k.

Highlights for the quarter include an announcement that RightBridge Ventures, an investee of FFG’s Swedish subsidiary Abelco, had entered into a reverse takeover agreement with Agilit, a public Swedish company listed on NASDAQ First North Growth Market.

RightBridge has completed its IPO in October, and is now trading on the NASDAQ First North under the ticker “RIGHTB”.

Following that successful listing, FFG now owns 38% of RightBridge through Abelco.

During the quarter, Fatfish has also been active in its share buyback programme.

As at 31 October, Fatfish has bought back around 5.15 million shares. The Board still perceives Fatfish as undervalued and remains committed to its buyback.

iCandy Interactive (ASX:ICI)

Game developer iCandy continues to grow its cash receipt during the quarter, realising approximately $9 million in cash receipts, up from the $8.2 million recorded in the pcp.

During the quarter, iCandy paid the fourth and final tranche cash consideration of RM12.5 million (around $4.1 million) for the acquisition of Lemon Sky Studios.

In August, iCandy also announced that Singtel has exercised an option, allowing iCandy to purchase an additional 16.3% equity stake in Digital Games, trading under the brand name Storms.

The stake was purchased for $2.61 million, which was settled via the issuance of around 19.3 million new iCandy shares at a price per share of $0.135.

In June, iCandy also announced that RightBridge Ventures, an investee company of iCandy, had entered into a reverse takeover agreement with Agilit, a public Swedish company listed on NASDAQ First North Growth Market.

RightBridge has completed its IPO in October 2022, and is now trading on NASDAQ First North under the ticker “RIGHTB”.

Following the successful listing of RightBridge, iCandy now owns 16.8% of RightBridge.

In July, the shareholders approved a share buy back scheme of up to 135 million shares and as at 31 October, iCandy has bought back around 26.75 million shares.

In view of the strong quarter and improving business outlook, iCandy says its Board continues to perceive iCandy as being undervalued, and remains committed to its buyback scheme.

Creso Pharma (ASX:CPH)

Cannabis stock Creso delivered total group revenue of $2.05m for the quarter, which was a 77% increase on the pcp, and a 30.7% increase on the last quarter.

The Q3 revenue takes Creso’s unaudited year-to-date revenue to $6.37m – a record revenue year for Creso that has exceeded CY21.

The company’s growth was underpinned by sales into North America from Sierra Sage Herbs and Mernova, as well as Creso Pharma Switzerland.

During the quarter, Creso secured a non-binding term sheet to acquire Health House, a company that generated $4.6m in cash receipts during the quarter driven by its strong revenue performance in Australia.

The acquisition of Sierra Sage Herbs was also completed in the quarter, providing Creso with a maiden entry into the large US market.

On the balance sheet front, Creso completed a strategic placement to raise $5m to underpin ongoing business development and scale up opportunities globally.

An additional $2m from previous placements are expected to be received following approval at the next general meeting.

Subsequent to quarter end, Creso also received commitments to raise up to an additional $7.6m, via a convertible securities agreement with Obsidian Global Partners.

Meanwhile, Creso’s subsidiary Halucenex continued its strong momentum towards a Phase II clinical trial into the efficacy of psilocybin on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Its other subsidiary Mernova also maintained strong revenue levels, despite a challenging market backdrop.

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Propell Holdings, Fatfish, iCandy, and Creso Pharma are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.