FinTech facial recognition takes off despite bleak half-year report

• Business intelligence company FinTech Chain (FTC) released a grim half-year report today
• The report posted a 121 per cent drop in profits, fueled by a 37 per cent drop in revenue
• The company blamed an immature blockchain industry for the loss
• FinTech directors said, however, its T-Linx facial recognition software is primed to bring in more profits next year
• The company’s shares are down roughly 22 per cent this afternoon, trading for 12 cents each

Business intelligence company FinTech Chain (FTC) shares have taken a nasty hit in light of its half-year report for the middle quarters of 2019.

The company posted a A$430,000 (RMB2.03 million) loss for the six months leading up to the end of September. When compared to the A$2 million (RMB9.5 million) profit posted for the same period in 2018, the loss amounts to a 121 per cent drop.

The shortfall comes from a 37.2 per cent drop in revenue — coming in at A$3.8 million (RMB17.8 million) in 2019 compared to 2018’s figure of A$6 million (RMB28.3 million).

The company blames market fluctuations in the blockchain industry for the loss. According to FinTech, it wasn’t able to bring a single dollar in from its blockchain technology services over the 2019 half-year, while the same period in 2018 brought in over A$3 million (RMB15 million) from these services alone.

A silver lining in an otherwise grim interim report is an increase in revenue from FinTech’s flagship T-Linx product.

Revenue from T-Linx product and service sales rose from A$2.8 million in the 2018 half-year period to A$3.8 million over the same time span in 2019.

FinTech said facial recognition is becoming an important part of the Chinese payment industry where the company operates.

However, popular payment institutions popular in China — which include Union Pay, Alipay, and WeChat Pay — each requires its own pieces of hardware for their facial recognition software.

This means in order for merchants to comply, they face some hefty costs and a general lack of space amidst all these face-recognising devices.

This is where T-Linx comes in.

The T-Linx product uses FinTech’s “Flounder” payment solution to integrate facial recognition tech from other payment institutions. This means merchants and store owners only need FinTech’s product to implement the tech, which lowers their costs and frees up bench space.

FinTech’s directors said in an announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange today it expects the coming year to see increased revenue and profits as a result of the uptake of its niche services.

The positive outlook from directors, however, did not seem to be enough to satisfy investors.

FinTech shares are down 21.87 per cent in mid-afternoon trade, currently worth 12 cents each in a A$127.55 million market cap.