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

OPAY a online payments provider,will announce its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2014 on Wednesday 10th September 2014.

I hope they are good.

Looks like the heat is off in the US for scrapping online gambling now 3 monkies.

In fact I hear 1or 2 more states are going to adopt it.

Fingers crossed we will get good results but as we know not neccessarily good reactions to them.

Still shares dont go up in straight lines.

Agreed - I'm also in GAME for that reason, more US States going to be joining before too long. California next??

Yep thats what ive heard Greyhound.

Ill check GAME out cheers.

Optimal now expects its full-year results to beat its own expectations.

Optimal Payments first – half profit soars 78 pct
10 Sep 2014 - 07:30

Sept. 10 (Reuters) – Online money transfer company Optimal Payments Plc's first-half pretax profit rose 78 percent, driven by robust sales at its high-margin Neteller e-wallet business.

The company, which moves billions of dollars per year in over 200 countries and territories with over 100 types of payment and multi-currency options, said pretax profit rose to $27.5 million for the six months ended June 30, from $15.5

million a year earlier. ...
Optimal now expects its full-year results to beat its own expectations.

Revenue rose 34 percent to $159.1 million.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Abhiram Nandakumar in Bangalore; Editing by Sunil Nair) ((noor.hussain@thomsonreuters.com)(Within UK +44 20 7542 1810)(Outside UK +91 80 6749 2764)(Reuters Messaging: noor.hussain.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)

Keywords: OPTIMAL PAYMENTS RESULTS/

BRIEF-Optimal Payments H1 rev up 34 pct
10 Sep 2014 - 07:15

Sept 10 (Reuters) – Optimal Payments Plc :

H1 revenues up 34% to $159.1m (h1 2013: $118.4m)
H1 net profit up 91% to $27.4m (h1 2013: $14.4m)
Board believes that full year results will now come in ahead of its expectations
Source text for Eikon: [ID:nRSJ2463Ra] Further company coverage: [OPAY.L]

(Bangalore Newsroom: +44 207 542 1810)

Keywords: OPTIMALPAYMENTS/BRIEF

Wonderful.

Fantastic results this morning and SP moving up nicely towards top of ceiling on uptrend channel. Prev top target now.

SP falling slightly, a lot selling but this always happens - only early yet. Let this one fly please as said before I need it!!!

First I can see is Numis, posted below..a pretty sizeable 11% upgrade to full year EPS from 35c to 39c. That still looks very conservative to me given the acquisitions should contribute 5c alone in H2.

Optimal Payments
Half Year Results
Stored value just begging to be let out
Optimal has beaten forecasts, again, and we are upgrading, again. Neteller revenue
increased almost 50% and increased its gross margin by 400bps but Netbanx
impressed too. There is plenty to go for in 2015 and we reiterate our Buy
recommendation and 700p price target.
œ 1H14 revenue was US$159m (up 34%) vs. our forecast of US$136m and US$118m
last time. Netbanx revenue increased 31% (to account for 74% of the total) and Neteller
revenue increased a remarkable 46%. Optimal's major merchant contributed 47% of
revenue, up from 39% in 1H13. Post the Meritus acquisition, referred to below, we
estimate that the major merchant's contribution will fall to c.1/3rd of revenue.
œ EBITDA was US$39m (up 54%) vs. our forecast of US$30m and US$25m last time.
Netbanx gross margin was flat at 43% but Neteller's gross margin was 87% vs. 83%
in 1H13. Operating costs increased sharply, by US$11.5m, in line with management
guidance that there would be some front-loading of costs in FY14 to support future
growth.
œ The acquisition of Meritus/GMA happened after period end. This deal brought
Optimal a base of small and medium-sized merchants in the US, and a slick process
for taking on new merchants. If integration is successful there will be a cross-sell of
international processing services to the Meritus client base and more rapid taking on
of new clients across the group.
œ Current trading is described as robust and full year results are expected to "come in
ahead of" expectations. The benefits of achieving "acquiring" status earlier in the year
are not reflected in reported trading. We believe that the payback on being able to offer
lower-cost payment processing will only start to come through in 2H14 and beyond.
œ Forecast changes. We are increasing our FY14E EBITDA by forecast by 10% to US
$86m from US$78m and EPS by 11% to 39c.
Trading continues to beat our forecasts in what we had expected to be a year of
consolidation for Optimal. 2015 should, in our view, benefit from: i) the Meritus
acquisition; ii) the upside from acquiring status; and, iii) investments in people.
Despite a strong share price performance in the past few months we believe the
share price remains materially out of step with the value of Optimal.

10 Sep 2014 Optimal Pay OPAY Canaccord Genuity Buy 485.00 473.25 575.00 600.00 Reiterates

SP Target 600p

MORE BOLT ONS COMING..............

UPDATE 1 Optimal Payments rides high on growing e – wallet business
10 Sep 2014 - 09:50

(Adds CEO comments, share movements)

Sept. 10 (Reuters) – Online money transfer company Optimal Payments Plc said it expects to beat its forecast for the full-year after robust sales at its high-margin Neteller e-wallet business drove first-half pretax profit up 78 percent.

The company's shares rose as much as 7.8 percent to 510 pence in early trade on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

Pretax profit jumped to $27.5 million for the six months

ended June 30, from $15.5 million a year ago. ...
"The acquisitions of Meritus and GMA in July satisfy our previously stated objectives to strengthen our presence in the US market and provides Optimal Payments with a springboard for strong North American growth," Chief Executive Joel Leonoff said

in a statement. ...
Optimal has a target list of about ten companies that it is evaluating for possible acquisitions and expects to whittle it down further over a number of months.

"We just bought a company that was in the 11-12 times EBITDA

range.... We're comfortable with those levels," he told Reuters,
adding that the company's preference is to pursue deals that would be "accretive to shareholders right away."

Leonoff also expects to integrate Apple Inc's
mobile payments offering, unveiled on Tuesday, into Optimal's current payment processing system.

First-half revenue rose 34 percent to $159.1 million, with the football World Cup in June contributing about $5 million, the company said.

Revenue from Optimal's payments processing business, which contributes nearly 74 percent to the total, rose 31 percent to $117.4 million, while that from Neteller was up 46 percent.

Isle of Man-based Optimal's AIM-listed shares were up 2.4 percent at 484.75 pence at 0837 GMT on the London Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Abhiram Nandakumar in Bangalore; Editing by Sunil Nair) ((noor.hussain@thomsonreuters.com)(Within UK +44 20 7542 1810)(Outside UK +91 80 6749 2764)(Reuters Messaging: noor.hussain.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)

Keywords: OPTIMAL PAYMENTS RESULTS/

Another upgrade.........

Optimal Payments : Canaccord Genuity raises target to 600p from 575p; rating buy.

Keep them coming! I want to do a ye haaaaaaa!!!!!

Here we are 3m......

10 Sep 2014 Optimal Pay OPAY Numis Buy 506.75 473.25 700.00 700.00 Reiterates

Busy sunning myself in Spain but this one is coming good again. Looks like great numbers and break of £5 should see a sharper quicker move northwards. Right, another beer...

3 Reasons To Buy Optimal Payments Plc Today
By Rupert Hargreaves - Wednesday, 10 September, 2014 | Motley Fool

Online money transfer company, Optimal Payments (LSE: OPAY) reported an impressive set of first-half results today, sending the company’s shares up by as much as 7% in early trade.

The company reported a 78% jump in pre-tax profit for the period, with pre-tax profit rising to $27.5m for the six months ended 30th June, compared to $15.5m a year earlier. Revenue jumped 34% to $159m.

These impressive results were driven by the success of the company’s high-margin Neteller e-wallet business. Management now expects Optimal’s full-year results to beat expectations.

Cash generation
Today’s results really highlight Optimal’s potential. The company has built itself up to become a well-respected international payments processor over the past few years and today’s results reflect that.

One of Optimal’s most attractive qualities is its profit margins. Indeed, for the six months to 30th June, Optimal reported a gross profit margin of 55%, up from 53% as reported during the first half of 2013.

As a result, Optimal is a highly cash-generative business. The company’s cash conversion ratio, the proportion of profits that are converted to cash flow, sits above 100%. What’s more, Optimal’s capital spending requirements are low, which allowed the company to report a strong free cash flow of $29m for the first half of this year.

Growth through acquisitions
Optimal’s impressive free cash flow has given the company the ability to grow through acquisitions without having to build up large amounts of debt. For example, to boost growth Optimal acquired US online payment processing companies Meritus and GMA for $225m during July.

Part of this acquisition ($150m) was funded with debt, the rest with cash, although even after this deal, Optimal still has a sizable cash balance. Further, with a free cash flow of around $30m every six months, the group should be able to pay off the above debt within a few years.

A reasonable price
Optimal is growing rapidly and for this reason, investors are prepared to pay a premium for the company’s shares. Indeed, at present levels Optimal trades at a forward P/E of 24.2, although with management expecting to beat forecasts for this year, I wouldn’t be surprised if City forecasts are adjusted later this week.

Nevertheless, even without the City adjusting forecasts higher, Optimal is expecting to report earnings per share growth of 44% this year, followed by growth of 26% next year. With growth surging, Optimal is trading at a PEG ratio of 0.6 for 2014, indicating that the shares offer growth at a reasonable price.

Reuters Insider – Apple Pay won't disrupt us: Optimal Payments CEO

10 Sep 2014 - 12:59

Click the following link to watch video:

http://insider.thomsonreuters.com/link.html?cn=share&cid=1296930&shareToken=MzU0Mzk6ZmFlOWRmMzktOTE4Yi00OGQ1LWFlZWMtZWUzOGEyZjc5YWQ2&playerName=ReutersNews

Optimal Payments Ups Full-Year Outlook After Pretax Profit Jump
LONDON (Alliance News) - Online payments provider Optimal Payments PLC Wednesday reported a jump ...
Alliance News10 September, 2014

LONDON (Alliance News) - Online payments provider Optimal Payments PLC Wednesday reported a jump in first-half pretax profit and said that robust trading since the end of that period means it now believes its full-year results will now come in ahead of its expectations.
In a statement, the AIM-listed shirt sponsor of Crystal Palace Football Club, said it made a USD27.5 million pretax profit in the six months ended June 30, compared with USD15.5 million in the corresponding period a year prior.
Revenue increased by 34% to USD159.1 million, boosted by growth and improved gross margin at digital wallet business NETELLER. It also reported revenue at secure gateway and merchant account business NETBANX, with the company highlighting Asia as a particular area of growth.
Optimal Payments has been growing its presence in the US, and in July completed the acquisition of payment processing companies Meritus Payment Solutions and Global Merchant Advisors Inc to that end.
"The acquisitions of Meritus and GMA in July satisfy our previously stated objectives to strengthen our presence in the US market and provides Optimal Payments with a springboard for strong North American growth," Joel Leonoff, president and chief executive, said in a statement.
"The attainment of principal membership status with Visa and MasterCard in Europe should help fortify our NETBANX business throughout Europe based on more competitive rates and a stronger offering," Leonoff added.
However, the company cautioned that "some regulatory related uncertainty" persists, as the regulated online gambling market continues to emerge in US states.
"Our European version of NETELLER continues to demonstrate impressive growth while our US NETELLER release is gaining traction and is extremely well positioned to leverage off new US markets regulating and re-opening the doors for US based online gaming," Leonoff said.
Optimal Payments shares were Wednesday quoted up 2.4% at 484.75 pence. The stock touched an intraday high of 510.00p earlier Wednesday morning, just below its 52-week peak of 519.50p.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
Copyright 2014 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
- See more at: http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/news/AN_1410336535147509700/optimal-payments-ups-full-year-outlook-after-pretax-profit-jump.aspx#sthash.5eAMrtC6.dpuf