Network International announce a final dividend of USD 3.1 cents per share has been proposed for the year ended 31 December 2019, which is in line with their stated dividend policy to payout up to 15% of underlying net income. The dividend will be paid on 28 May 2020 to the shareholders on the register at the close of trading on 11 May 2020.
Other financial highlights include:
Strong revenue growth of 12.4% (also 12.4%2 on a constant currency basis):
o Middle East revenue growth of 9.2%, driven by increased TPV, transactions and cross-selling
o Africa revenue growth of 22.2%, driven by volume growth in cards hosted and TPV, complemented by new customer wins and cross-selling
Underlying EBITDA1 increased by 13.3%. Underlying EBITDA margin (excluding share of an associate) broadly stable at 48.6%. This includes public company costs which negatively impacted margin by (130) bps.
Profit from continuing operations increased by 26.3%, reflecting growth across the business and no impairment charge recorded in the current year.
Underlying free cashflow was USD 103.2 million and net cashflow from operating activities was USD 131.2 million.
Completed the transition to their next generation technology platforms with customers successfully migrated; further differentiating their products, services and unlocking growth opportunities.
Recent customer wins include Tyme Bank in South Africa; Sparkle Bank and Unity Bank in Nigeria; and direct acquiring with a number of SME and key UAE merchants.
N-GeniusTM product rollout progressing well, with over 15,000 point-of-sale units distributed and over 300 online gateway customers in the UAE. Rolling out in Africa with presence in four countries
Saudi Arabia market entry has progressed through the start of investment to deploy on-soil payments processing capability.
Mastercard partnership initiatives have commenced with a focus on further digitising their payments capabilities.
