SUPERB RESULTS

REG - Optimal Payments PLC - Interim Results19 Sep 2012 - 07:01

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on the link below: http://pdf.reuters.com/Regnews/regnews.asp?i=43059c3bf0e37541&u=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20120919:nRSS5828Ma RNS Number : 5828M Optimal Payments PLC 19 September 2012 Optimal Payments Plc Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2012 Strong first half growth, on track to exceed full year market expectations Optimal Payments Plc (LSE: OPAY) ("Optimal Payments", the "Group" or the "Company"), a leading online payments provider, today announces its results for the six months ended 30 June 2012. Highlights · EBITDA(1) up 76% to $11.2m (H1 2011: $6.4m). · Revenues up 37% to $78.9m (H1 2011: $57.4m). Fixed costs marginally down following headcount reduction in Q1. · Profit before tax $1.7m (H1 2011: loss of $4.1m). · Strong organic growth from NETBANX Straight Through Processing division ("STP"), up 68% to $61.9m (H1 2011: $36.9m) with continued strength and growth in Asia. · NETELLER Stored Value ("SV") revenues down to $16.2m (2011:$18.0m(2)) principally as a result of the fallout from Black Friday(3) in H1 2011. § Initiatives undertaken in H1 have produced improved results in second half to date. Major investment in NETELLER SV platform now complete and cost base aligned. § US online gaming opportunity taking shape. · Strong demand from existing customers and from new customers won during the first half including Ford Credit, Hockey Canada and Rona. Commercial agreement signed with Lotus F1 Team. · Strong H1 revenue exit run rate positions the Company for further growth in second half and on track to exceed the market consensus full year expectations. Financial summary (unaudited) Six months ended 30 June 2012 2011(5) US$ million US$ million Revenue Straight Through Processing (NETBANX bureau & gateway services) 61.9 36.9 Stored Value (NETELLER eWallet & Net+ cards) 16.2 18.0 Stored Value - discontinued revenues (4) - 2.1 Investment income 0.7 0.4 Total Revenue 78.9 57.4 EBITDA (1) 11.2 6.4 Profit/(loss) before tax 1.7 (4.1) Tax (charge)/recovery (6) (2012 charge relates to 2004/5 period) (2.5) 0.5 Net loss for the period (0.8) (3.6) (1) EBITDA is defined as results of operating activities before depreciation and amortisation and exceptional non-recurring items which are defined as items of income and expense of such size, nature or incidence, that in the view of management their disclosure is relevant to explain the performance of the Group. (2) Excluding discontinued revenues - see note 4. (3) "Black Friday" refers to the regulatory action taken in April 2011 against certain major poker operators which resulted in many players ceasing to play poker worldwide. (4) Discontinued revenues were derived from e-money expiry which is now subject to different rules under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. (5) 2011 comparables include only 5 months of revenues and costs from the OP Inc business acquired on 1 February 2011. (6) Tax charge in the period relates to expected reassessment of 2004/5 Canadian taxes following a review by the Canadian Revenue Agency which commenced in 2005. The Board has made a full provision for the amount it believes it is likely to be required to pay in respect of withholding taxes and interest. See note 17 in the Financial Statements for more detail. Commenting on today's results announcement, Joel Leonoff, President & CEO, said: The combination of NETELLER and OP Inc. has produced a multi-faceted payment product offering and positioned the emerged business Optimal Payments Plc to benefit from a rapidly evolving online payment market. Our efforts have resulted in a fully integrated and right-sized business with an efficient cost base. Our operationally geared business model, continued focus on product development and R&D, along with our strong presence in the internet payment market have combined to produce significant organic revenue and EBITDA growth. Our H1 results and strong foundation position the Company well for further growth in H2. The online payment industry continues to consolidate and the Group should benefit from the expected significant growth in both the online and mobile commerce markets. We see substantial opportunities to provide innovative solutions to merchants and consumers in both the NETELLER eWallet and NETBANX

Not looking good again today so far.

Looks worth going long here again .

No reason for the recent drop 3 monkies ?

Be careful Jimmy and 3m.

Its winny(Tom Winnifrith) who as pointed the finger at this stock.

Same company who is behind Quindel scandal as borrowed stock? off them.

One of the board.

Illl try and find it for you.

What's his beef with this one GF ?

Here Jimmy, sorry for the bad news I suppose others are talking the stock up but on balance having known TOM for 30 years plus I trust him although he is now a controversial character.....

Optimal Payments FD Quits: Does the CEO need to watch his back now?
By Nigel Somerville, The Deputy Sheriff of AIM | Saturday 13 December 2014


Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from ShareProphets). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

On Friday AIM Cesspit listed Optimal Payments (OPAY) announced the departure of its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and director, Mr Keith Butcher – one of just two executive directors on the board. As discussed HERE he had been selling down his holding at above the current share price earlier in the year. The news saw the shares fall an impressive 12.9%.

In the light of the questions we have been posing here on Shareprophets, I wonder why Mr Butcher has gone. Is it because he had become uncomfortable with something about the CEO, Mr Leonoff and his dealings with Equities First Holdings LLC? Or was he perhaps a bit cheesed off that his portion of the trough offered relatively measly pickings when compared to the up to £10m Mr Leonoff trousered last year?

But in an interesting twist, Optimal has appointed a new CFO in the form of Mr Brian McArthur-Muscroft, who joins the board from Telecity (TCY). Now Telecity has had its own questions posed HERE by Ben Turney, regarding loans secured against pledged shares in a series of transactions between its former CEO, Mr Michael Tobin and UBS AG. The last of those was announced by RNS on 8 Aug 2014, but just two and a half weeks later Mr Tobin’s resignation was announced by RNS.

Optimal still has a number of matters which need further clarification regarding Mr Leonoff’s dealings with EFH, such as when he actually handed his 1.5m shares over to EFH.

But I wonder if Mr Leonoff might now want to watch his back…

Site is here and is free, quite a few articles on OPAY....................

http://www.shareprophets.com/

Cheers GF , i have bought in and out here a couple of times ,not in now but tempted .

PS i'm wary of anything they get their teeth in to over there as they seem to drag it down .

Yep im in the same camp.

With 3m being a long term holder, these short term things are nowt really.

BUT dont write off Winny, he can and does get to the bottom of the truth nutter that he is.

Your right at the moment GF , getting the crap kicked out of it !

Dropped nearly £1 in two trading days - there is always something that drags this down when it is going up. It has a lot going for it in general.

I feel for you 3m.

Youve been such a sincere fan/holder here.

Dont give up now.

Youve been here before.

Keep a watch on it mind. gf

Thanks gf but getting a lot worrying as they have so much in the offering.

Yep , stay cool lass, but make sure you keep up with events.

Share Price Movement
LONDON, MONTREAL and NEW YORK (16 December 2014) - Optimal Payments Plc (LSE AIM: OPAY, "Optimal Payments" or the "Company") notes the recent weakness in its share price and provides the following statement.

Further to the trading update in November, the Company confirms that trading in the year to date has been strong and expects Optimal Payments' financial results for 2014 to be at least in line with market expectations. The Company's NETELLER and NETBANX businesses are both expected to deliver good revenue growth and profitability in the year to 31 December 2014 and the integration of the US businesses, acquired in July, is progressing well. Optimal Payments continues to deliver on its stated strategic objectives and remains confident in the outlook for organic and accretive inorganic growth.

Dennis Jones, Non-executive Chairman of Optimal Payments, added: "I'm delighted we have selected Brian McArthur-Muscroft as our new CFO, after an extensive and rigorous search process. With a clear mind to the future, the Board wanted a strong candidate with a proven track record of contributing to the growth of large companies who could assist us with our own ambitious growth strategy."

The appointment of Brian McArthur-Muscroft as Chief Financial Officer and to the board of Optimal Payments was fully endorsed by the Board, following a comprehensive search for a suitable candidate by a leading executive search firm.

What scare mongering is going on now?? Holy cow.

By John Ficenec, Questor Editor
6:00AM GMT 17 Dec 2014
Aim-listed online payment processor has suffered from a controversial director share deal and the exit of the finance chief, says Questor

Optimal Payments
325½p+12p
Questor says SELL

Optimal Payments [LON:OPAY] shares have been hammered this year. The company’s shares have tumbled almost 40pc from highs of 536p in mid-September and are now down 9pc for the year after its chief executive was caught up in a controversial share sale.

The online payment company announced the exit of the finance chief Keith Butcher last week and yesterday moved to calm the markets by insisting trading was still fine.

The problems all stem from share dealings carried out by the company’s chief executive earlier this year. On April 1 the company made a regulatory announcement that Joel Leonoff had “pledged” 1.5m Optimal Payments shares, or 38pc of his entire holding, in return for £4m in cash from a US company called Equity First Holdings (EFH). The cash received for the shares was about a 30pc discount to their £5.5m market value.


On the face of it this transaction did not appear out of place, as management in Aim-listed companies often have a lot of their wealth tied up in the shares and using them to fund a house purchase or the like seems sensible.

However, the company was forced to clarify the deal last month after EFH found itself back in the spotlight over other share deals at insurance outsourcer Quindell. It emerged that Mr Leonoff’s EFH “loan” structure involved him disposing of his shares at a discount, but with an option to repurchase. Mr Leonoff’s full intention may be to buy back the shares, but crucially he doesn’t have to if they fall in value. There is quite a big difference between simply using shares to obtain a loan - and selling more than a third of one’s stake in a company, as now appears to have been the case.

Meanwhile, the company said yesterday that trading was strong and it expected results for the year ended December to be “at least” in line with market expectations for pre-tax profits of £45m, on revenue of £232m, giving earnings per share of 24.4p.

Optimal Payments is operating in a fast-growing online gambling market as its technology helps customers store cash and make payments. It has two main sources of revenue: NETELLER, an “e-wallet” business into which online gamblers can deposit money, and NETBANX, a system that processes transactions for online retailers. But, despite these encouraging prospects, Questor is nothing if not cautious and doesn’t like surprises such as those involving Mr Leonoff’s sharedealing. We are exiting our previous buy position and would rather hold cash going into next year. Sell.

Bouncing back for you this afternoon 3monkies ...

Thank goodness jimmy b and any one else who holds. What a share!!!!

I'm not actually in here ,am tempted though because of the wild fluctuations.

Good Luck if you do.