Press releases

Paysafe delivers strong FY 2015, positive outlook for 2016

Mar 16, 2016

LONDON (16 March 2016) – Paysafe Group plc (LSE: PAYS, “Paysafe” or the “Group”), a leading global provider of payment solutions, announces its audited preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2015.

Financial highlights

$m

2015

2014

YOY

Revenue

613.4

365.0

68%

Pro-forma constant currency year-on-year revenue growth1

13%

18%

 

Adjusted EBITDA2

152.6

86.1

77%

Adjusted EBITDA margin

24.9%

23.6%

 

Adjusted profit after tax3

108.7

68.0

60%

Statutory profit after tax

7.4

57.7

-87%

Adjusted diluted EPS

0.26

0.22

15%

Reported net debt4

431.3

22.9

NM

NM = not meaningful

-          Growth in revenue, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted profit after tax reflects positive performance across all divisions and the inclusion of Skrill Group (“Skrill”) results from acquisition on 10 August 2015.

-          Statutory profit after tax impacted by acquisition-related costs, including amortisation of acquired intangibles, largely relating to Skrill.

-          Integration of Skrill progressing well with accelerated synergy savings of approximately $10m achieved in 2015.

-          Reducing concentration of major merchant Asia Gateway revenue continued throughout 2015.

Operational highlights

-          Scale and breadth of Group’s payments technology product and services offering, customer base and geographic exposure significantly enhanced by:

o   Accretive acquisition of Skrill.

o   Successful integration of US-based Meritus Payment Solutions (“Meritus”) and Global Merchant Advisors (“GMA”) into the Group’s payments processing business.

o   Acquisition of mobile platform development business FANS Entertainment completed in May 2015.

-          Transition to Paysafe as new corporate name and brand identity in November 2015.

-          Paysafe shares admitted to Main Market of London Stock Exchange in December 2015.

Post year-end developments

-          On 2 March 2016, FTSE Russell announced the inclusion of Paysafe as a constituent of the FTSE 250 index, effective from 21 March 2016.

-    On 16 February 2016, Paysafe completed a transaction to acquire substantially all of the assets of Dallas-based MeritCard Solutions LP for an initial cash consideration of $16m plus up to a further $4m cash consideration, subject to the achievement of certain financial performance targets over two years. This acquisition broadens and deepens Paysafe’s payment processing sales capabilities and partner relationships in North America.

Outlook

-          The positive momentum that delivered our 2015 results slightly ahead of expectations has continued into the early part of 2016.

Unaudited pro-forma constant currency year-on-year revenue growth is stated on an adjusted basis as if we had owned all acquisitions (including Skrill and Ukash, Meritus, GMA and FANS Entertainment) for all comparative periods.  It is also calculated by applying prior period foreign exchange rates to current period amounts.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as results of operating activities before depreciation and amortisation and adjusted for 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.

Unaudited adjusted profit after tax and fully diluted earnings per share exclude the impact of foreign exchange losses and gains, acquisition, restructuring and other exceptional costs, share based payments, fair value gains and losses on share consideration payable and amortisation of acquired intangibles.

Reported net debt includes short and long term debt (excluding deferred finance costs), finance leases and deferred cash consideration payable offset by cash and cash equivalents.

Please note that due to rounding, numbers presented throughout this document may not add up precisely to the totals provided. Percentage changes are calculated on unrounded figures.

Commenting on the results, Chairman Dennis Jones said:

“2015 was another year of continued strong performance across the entire business. The Paysafe team is focused on building on the successes of our operations across all the payment-related needs we serve. We are well positioned for opportunities to consolidate our position as a proven leader and trusted innovator in the payments industry.”

President and CEO Joel Leonoff said:

“We are incredibly pleased with this year’s results. 2015 was a tremendous year for our business. We operated at pace with focus, delivering growth both in terms of our financial results and the increasing range of payment products and services we provide around the world.

Among the many highlights of the past year were the integration of Meritus and GMA, the acquisition of Skrill and FANS Entertainment, the transition to the Group’s new brand identity Paysafe and our elevation to the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market. These milestones, together with our upcoming inclusion in the FTSE 250 index, are a testament to the significant progress made by the Group over the past 15 months.

I am pleased to report that the positive momentum we’ve shown in delivering our results slightly ahead of expectations in FY 2015 has continued into the early part of this financial year. I am very excited about our prospects and opportunities in the year ahead.”

Presentation to analysts and investors

CEO Joel Leonoff and CFO Brian McArthur-Muscroft will host an audiocast and conference call for analysts and investors at 9 a.m. today (UK time) via the following logon and dial-in details:

Webcast link:                     http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/b5tqi98o

Dial-in numbers:              UK Toll Number: +44(0)20 3427 1900

UK Toll-Free Number: 0800 279 5736

US Toll Number: +1 646 254 3366

Passcode:                           9494713#

 A replay facility for the call will be available via the Investor Relations section of www.paysafe.com.

 

About Paysafe

Paysafe provides digital payments and transaction-related solutions to businesses and consumers around the world. Paysafe makes transactions easy by enabling fast, convenient and secure ways to pay-before, pay-now and pay-later through its digital wallets, prepaid card, payment processing and card issuing & acquiring products and services. We believe that every point of every payment should be relevant, simple and safe. With nearly two decades of experience, Paysafe is trusted by merchants, and by consumers in more than 200 countries and territories, to move and manage money via more than 100 payment types and 40 currencies. Paysafe offers multi-platform products with an emphasis on emerging payment technologies including mobile. Paysafe’s brand portfolio includes NETELLER® and Skrill®, paysafecard®, payolution® and FANS Entertainment. Paysafe Group plc shares trade on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol (PAYS.L). For more information, visit: www.paysafe.com.

 

For further information, contact:

Paysafe Group plc

Michelle Singleton, VP Investor Relations
+44 (0) 20 3826 9800 / investorrelations@paysafe.com 

Gavin Haycock, SVP Corporate Communications
+44 (0) 20 3826 9767 / gavin.haycock@paysafe.com

Tavistock (Financial PR)

Simon Hudson / Simon Fluendy / Andrew Dunn
+44 (0) 20 7920 3150 / paysafe@tavistock.co.uk

Full results

Download the Full-Year results as a PDF.