KHALEEJ TIMES, Thursday, Aug 19, 2021 | Muharram 10, 1443
Network International H1 revenue up 16.5% to $156.4 million
Emirates:
Network International on Wednesday beat expectations with a 16.5 per cent
rise in first-half revenue as its merchant solutions business
and main markets continued to recover from the pandemic.
The Dubai-based payments processor said its earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) rose 17.2 per cent to $60.4 million in
the first half of 2021 driven by recovery across all markets including the UAE.
The company’s revenue reached $156.4 million with the majority of key
performance indicators (KPI) now ahead of pre-pandemic levels.
The results showed stronger-than-expected revenue growth in its merchant
solutions business,
which provides services and solutions that allow merchants to accept card or
digital payments from consumers, Network International said.
“We are seeing a recovery from Covid-19, with the majority of KPIs now ahead of
pre-pandemic levels, including the signing of new merchant and bank customers,”
CEO Nandan Mer said.
“We are particularly focused on accelerating growth in our merchant solutions
business,” he said.
He said the company has made progress in entering Saudi Arabia. “While borders
were closed during the height of the pandemic, we used our time productively and
have reassessed the approach, with much lower capital investment and a faster go
to market plan.”
Mer said the proposed acquisition of DPO is expected to complete in Q3 2021. The
company remains confident in meeting full year expectations and now expects
total revenues to be slightly higher than those recorded in 2019, he said.
“Leveraging its strong position and reputation as a payments partner in the
region, Network International added a record number of new merchants to its
roster in both June and July,” the company said in a statement.
Network International continues to see strong demand for its developing data and
information products, particularly amongst larger merchants and government
clients. It signed an agreement with the Government of Abu Dhabi to support its
statistics unit with the provision of historic and forward flow transaction data
that will help the Emirate to enhance its understanding of the market and
improve economic forecasts. Network International also contracted with Atlantis
the Palm to provide regular market share insights on their hotel and
restaurants, together with comprehensive performance dashboards.
For merchant customers, Network International has added a number of additional
payment acceptance solutions which will help merchants drive additional revenues
for their businesses. This includes QR code payments, the ability to accept MIR
(Russian) and Rupay (Indian) cards, as well as a currency conversion option on
contactless payments, it said.
For financial institution customers, the payments processor firm will be adding
a number of new services or capabilities in the months ahead, including the
adoption of the latest security protocols that will allow card issuers to
introduce biometric authentication for online card payments, said the statement.