Network International’s (NETW) maiden half-year results featured the announcement of a commercial partnership with payments giant Mastercard (US:MA), which will see its American partner invest $35m (£29m) over the next five years. Mastercard took a 9.99 per cent stake in the Dubai-based payments specialist at its initial public offering in April 2019.
Network hopes that the deal will help it push on the adoption of digital payments in its markets. It is currently in the throes of a technology revamp that it expects to conclude at the end of this year, with customers representing more than 96 per cent of its revenues now migrated onto its new platforms. “These platforms will underpin the growth of the organisation for many years to come,” chief executive Simon Haslam said.
Network also has its sights on Saudi Arabia. The company noted that it had been confirmed as a participant in a ‘new regulatory sandbox’ set up by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority. It is ploughing resources into the kingdom, with its growth strategy here progressing “more quickly than originally envisaged” – this is feeding through into improved medium- and long-term guidance on revenues and cash profits. The board intends to pay a dividend of 15 per cent of underlying income for the full-year post-listing 2019 period, which will be paid in the first half of 2020.
JP Morgan Cazenove forecasts full-year 2019 pre-tax profits and EPS of $96m and 0.2¢, respectively, rising to $113m and 0.25¢ in 2020.
| NETWORK INTERNATIONAL (NETW) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 591p | MARKET VALUE: | £3.55bn | |
| TOUCH: | 590-594p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 630p | LOW: 491p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | na | PE RATIO: | 405 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 42¢* | NET DEBT: | 177% † | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
| 2018 | 136 | 38.6 | 6.42 | nil |
| 2019 | 152 | 18.9 | 2.94 | nil |
| % change | +12 | -51 | -54 | - |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na | |||
| £1=$1.21 *Includes intangible assets of $424m, or 85¢ a share. † Does not include $86.7m in restricted cash. | ||||
