Optimal Payments Plc - Audited results for the year ended 31 December 2013

Exceptional 2013 performance - exciting opportunities in 2014

LONDON, MONTREAL and NEW YORK, April 1, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Optimal Payments Plc (LSE: OPAY) (the "Group"), a leading global provider of online payments, today announces its results for the year ended 31 December 2013.

Highlights

• Exceptional full year performance:
• EBITDA⁽¹⁾ up 89% to $52.2m (2012: $27.6m);
• Revenues up 41% to $253.4m (2012: $179.1m);
• Net Profit after tax $31.5m (2012: $1.2m).
• Significant turnaround in NETELLER Stored Value ("SV") business:
• Revenues up 54% to $59.8m (2012: $38.8m) as initiatives started in 2012 continue to deliver benefits.
• Strong organic growth from NETBANX Straight Through Processing ("STP") business:
• Revenues up 39% to $193.0m (2012: $138.9m) with continued strong growth in Asia.
• Balance sheet strengthened at year end:
• Group cash (net of merchant cash) of $93.8m (31 December 2012: $57.9m). Free cash of approximately $38.0m⁽⁴⁾ (31 December 2012: $15.0m);
• Group loans reduced to $9.5m at year end 31 December 2013 (31 December 2012: $25.8m) and subsequently cleared as of 28 January 2014. Group now materially debt free ⁽³⁾.
• Strategic initiatives progressing well:
• Principal Membership with Visa Europe and MasterCard Europe granted enabling Optimal Payments to offer acquiring services to merchants in the European Union from the second half of 2014 and to benefit from competitive rates and increased market opportunity;
• New NETELLER and Net+ products launched in the US in March 2014 and US office opened.
• More US states including California, New York and Pennsylvania considering licensing online gaming following recent New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada regulation and rollout.
• Revenue impact depends upon the timing of the opening of individual states;
• Continued focus on identifying possible M&A candidates.
• Significant investment in people and technology planned in 2014 in delivering on our strategic objectives including payments services for regulated US online gaming, payment acquiring, mobile payment technologies and card issuing.
• Excellent start to new financial year - strong current trading and sales pipeline underpin prospects for further growth in 2014.
  
  

Commenting on the results, Joel Leonoff, President & CEO, said:
"2013 was an exceptional year for Optimal Payments and represents the completion of the turnaround phase of the Group that started with the acquisition of OP Inc. in February 2011 and has resulted in substantial increases in revenue, profitability, cash and our market capitalisation. Looking forward, we have a number of exciting opportunities including our new US NETELLER and Net+ prepaid offering and our ability to offer competitive acquiring services to European merchants. These opportunities will require continued investment in 2014, which we believe will deliver long-term material returns. The Board remains excited about these opportunities and remains confident about the future."

Financial summary (audited)

Year ended 31 December	2013	2012
	US $m	US $m
Revenue
NETBANX Straight Through Processing (STP)	193.0	138.9
NETELLER Stored Value (SV)	59.8	38.8
Investment income	0.6	1.4
Total revenue	253.4	179.1
EBITDA ^(1)	52.2	27.6
Profit before tax	32.7	3.6
Taxation ^(2)	(1.2)	(2.4)
Net profit after tax	31.5	1.2

(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, should be disclosed to explain the performance of the Group.
(2)	Tax charge in 2012 relates to expected reassessment of 2004/5 Canadian taxes following a review commenced in 2005 by the Canadian Revenue Agency. 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.
(3)	Excluding finances leases totalling $1.4m included in the Statement of Financial Position
(4)	Free cash is own cash less cash tied up in running the business. This includes Restricted NETELLER Member and Merchant cash, security deposits with certain acquiring banks and cash in transit. This totals approximately $55.8m at 31 December 2013 leaving free cash of approximately $38.0m at year end (2012: $15.0m) which is available for long term investment.

ABOUT OPTIMAL PAYMENTS
Optimal Payments is a global provider of online payment solutions, trusted by businesses and consumers in over 200 countries and territories to move and manage billions of dollars each year.  Merchants use the NETBANX® platform and services to simplify how they accept credit and debit card, direct-from-bank, and alternative and local payments; and the NETELLER® service to increase revenues and capture new customers.  Consumers use the multilingual and multicurrency NETELLER and Net+® Card stored-value offering to make secure and convenient payments. Optimal Payments Plc is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's AIM, with a ticker symbol of OPAY.  Subsidiary company Optimal Payments Ltd is authorised and regulated as an e-money issuer by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 900015).

For more information on Optimal Payments visit www.optimalpayments.com or subscribe at http://www.optimalpayments.com/media/email-alerts.

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SOURCE: Optimal Payments Plc.

Head of Investor Relations
Jessica Stalley
Optimal Payments Plc
+ 44 207 182 1707
[email protected]

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