Faith sector in age of Covid: Pushpay hits new high, $2.3b market cap, after upgrade

Pushpay's app digitises the process of "passing the plate" to collect donations from a church congregation, and offers tools for managing messaging. Photo / Supplied

Pushpay shares continued their tear today. The stock, which jumped 8.8 per cent yesterday on an earnings upgrade, was up 1.5 per to a new all0time high of $8.27 in midday trading.

The Auckland-based maker of digital giving software - which does 98 per cent of its business with US churches - has now seen its market cap more than double to $2.3 billion since mid-March.

At the company's virtual AGM yesterday, operating earnings guidance was lifted from US$48 million-$52m to US$50m-$54m.

At the annual meeting, chief executive Bruce Gordon laid out a simple coronavirus equation.

"Pushpay expects the increase in digital giving, as a proportion of total giving, resulting from Covid-19, to outweigh any potential fall in total giving to the US faith sector," he said.

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In short, Pushpay's app, which offers digital collection plate and church community update features, has seen wider adoption during lockdown, and it looks like the increased technology adoption will persist.

"We've seen a clear shift to digital whereby customers are increasingly using our mobile-first technology solutions to communicate with their congregations," Gordon said.

"The company has experienced an increase in demand for its services and remains well equipped to support customers to leverage digital technology to drive continued congregation participation through the use of its mobile app."

After a banner FY2020, which included the purchase of Colorado-based church management system software maker Church Community Builder for US$87.5m ($132.2m), Pushpay's NZX shares slumped to $2.82 as the stock was caught up in general negative market sentiment as level 4 loomed.

But over the past few weeks it has rallied strongly, topping $7 a share and a $2b valuation for the first time.

Today, before the revised-upward guidance was issued, Gordon made a point of highlighting that Pushpay has met its forecasts every year since it listed in 2014.

The addition of Community Church Builder allowed Pushpay to offer an across-the-board service for the first time.

A question from the floor - or at least the internet - asked if the coronavirus outbreak provided an opportunity for Pushpay to expand outside of North America, or into other markets such as non-profits.

Gordon said Pushpay's success had been the result of its "laser-like focus" on the North American faith sector. It planned to continue that focus - albeit signing more large churches. Its goal was to gain 50 per cent market share in the US, which would yield around US$1b a year in revenue.

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Elsewhere at the AGM, Graham Shaw noted his company passed a diversity milestone when Justine Smyth, who also serves as Spark's chair, was appointed as the first woman to Pushpay's board last August.

"We thought she was out of our reach," Shaw said.

Chairman Graham Shaw revealed that Justine Smyth only agreed to join Pushpay's all-male board on condition that at least one other female director be appointed. Photo / Supplied

But he revealed Smyth agreed to join on the condition that at least one other female director be appointed.

Movac partner Lovina McMurchy duly joined PushPay's board in March.

Gordon - a former chairman who stepped into the chief executive role after the departure of founder Chris Heaslip last year - also said he would step down as CEO once a replacement was found.