We feel now is a pretty good time to analyse Equals Group plc's (LON:EQLS) business as it appears the company may be on the cusp of a considerable accomplishment. Equals Group plc, through its subsidiaries, provides foreign exchange payment services and banking services to private clients and corporations through prepaid currency cards, travel cash, international money transfers, and current accounts in the United Kingdom. On 31 December 2021, the UK£156m market-cap company posted a loss of UK£2.4m for its most recent financial year. As path to profitability is the topic on Equals Group's investors mind, we've decided to gauge market sentiment. Below we will provide a high-level summary of the industry analysts’ expectations for the company.

See our latest analysis for Equals Group

Consensus from 2 of the British IT analysts is that Equals Group is on the verge of breakeven. They expect the company to post a final loss in 2021, before turning a profit of UK£1.4m in 2022. Therefore, the company is expected to breakeven roughly a year from now or less! At what rate will the company have to grow in order to realise the consensus estimates forecasting breakeven in under 12 months? Using a line of best fit, we calculated an average annual growth rate of 113%, which is rather optimistic! Should the business grow at a slower rate, it will become profitable at a later date than expected.

We're not going to go through company-specific developments for Equals Group given that this is a high-level summary, however, take into account that generally a high forecast growth rate is not unusual for a company that is currently undergoing an investment period.

One thing we’d like to point out is that The company has managed its capital prudently, with debt making up 4.9% of equity. This means that it has predominantly funded its operations from equity capital, and its low debt obligation reduces the risk around investing in the loss-making company.

Next Steps:

This article is not intended to be a comprehensive analysis on Equals Group, so if you are interested in understanding the company at a deeper level, take a look at Equals Group's company page on Simply Wall St. We've also put together a list of key aspects you should further examine:

1. Historical Track Record: What has Equals Group's performance been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of our analysis for more clarity.

2. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look at who sits on Equals Group's board and the CEO’s background.

3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.