Seguridad Mania.com - España y América Latina

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- (Marketwire) -- 11/08/12 -- Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: UEPS)(JSE: NT1) today announced results for the first quarter fiscal 2013.

Summary Financial Metrics

                                           Three months ended September 30,
                                   ----------------------------------------
                                                         % change  % change
                                         2012      2011    in USD    in ZAR
                                   ----------------------------------------
(All figures in USD '000s except
 per share data)
Revenue                               111,682    99,926       12%       30%

GAAP net income                         6,744    19,768     (66%)     (60%)

Fundamental net income (1)             11,498    19,884     (42%)     (33%)

GAAP earnings per share ($)              0.15      0.44     (66%)     (61%)

Fundamental earnings per share ($)
 (1)                                     0.25      0.44     (43%)     (33%)

Fully-diluted shares outstanding
 ('000's)                              45,590    45,079        1%

Average period USD/ ZAR exchange
 rate                                    8.26      7.09       16%

(1) Fundamental net income and earnings per share is a non-GAAP measure and is described below under "Use of Non-GAAP Measures-Fundamental net income and fundamental earnings per share". See Attachment B for a reconciliation of GAAP net income to fundamental net income and earnings per share.

Factors impacting comparability of our Q1 2013 and Q1 2012 results

--  Unfavorable impact from the strengthening of the US dollar: The US
    dollar appreciated by 16% against the ZAR during Q1 2013 which
    negatively impacted our reported results;
--  SASSA implementation costs: We continued implementing our SASSA contract
    during Q1 2013 and incurred additional implementation and staff costs;
    and
--  Profit on liquidation of SmartSwitch Nigeria: In fiscal 2012, we
    recorded a non-cash profit of $4.0 million on the liquidation of
    SmartSwitch Nigeria.

Comments and Outlook

"I am delighted with the progress we have made in the implementation of our SASSA contract and specifically with the efficiency, reliability and security of our platform," said Dr. Serge Belamant, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Net1. "In addition, together with our Board we have now developed an extensive strategic plan that will drive growth and profitability for the group over the next three years. We have identified four key pillars of the strategy, namely (i) South Africa; (ii) NUETS, UEGS and UEPS/EMV; (iii) Mobile Solutions; and (iv) KSNET. We expect to provide more details on this strategy over the next few months," he concluded.

"We expect our quarterly performance to remain lumpy during the SASSA contract implementation period. In the first quarter of fiscal 2013, we decided to expense the cost of the smart cards issued to grant recipients, rather than to capitalize as under our previous contract," said Herman Kotze, Chief Financial Officer of Net1. "Although the estimated number of cards to be issued remains 10 million, the number of beneficiaries that SASSA has now asked us to enroll has increased substantially to 21.6 million, which is approximately 40% higher than SASSA's previous estimate. Therefore, in fiscal year 2013, we now expect fundamental earnings per share to be at least $1.25, which includes approximately $0.21 per share for the cost of smart cards. Our guidance also assumes a constant currency base of ZAR 7.72/$1 and using our fiscal 2012 share count of 45 million shares. As a result of expensing the smart cards, we have revised our estimated SASSA-related capital expenditures lower to $35 million," he concluded.

Progress of second phase of our SASSA contract implementation

We commenced the second phase of the enrollment process in early July 2012 and plan to be substantially complete by March 2013, in accordance with the enrollment plan agreed with SASSA. Under our agreement with SASSA, we have to enroll both the grant recipients, as well as the grant beneficiaries. While the number of grant recipients on a national basis has consistently been quantified by SASSA at 9.4 million individuals, the number of beneficiaries is continually being revised by SASSA on an ongoing basis from an initial estimate of approximately 15.5 million, to the current estimate of approximately 21.6 million.

As of September 30, 2012, we had enrolled approximately 1.7 million grant recipients and 1.3 million beneficiaries associated with these recipients in accordance with our second phase enrollment schedule, and issued them our UEPS/EMV smart card.

During the first quarter of fiscal 2013 we incurred direct implementation expenses of approximately $14.1 million (ZAR 116.6 million) including staff, travel, premises hire for enrollment and stationery costs. In line with industry practice, we no longer amortize the cost of the smart cards over the contract period and expense the cost of the card when issued on enrollment. As a result of our decision to fully expense the UEPS/EMV smart cards when they are issued, we expensed $1.7 million (ZAR 14.0 million) related to the cost of the UEPS/EMV smart cards issued during the quarter, which is not included in the $14.1 million above. We also incurred approximately $3.3 million in capital expenditures, primarily to acquire payment vehicles. Since inception of the implementation we have incurred cumulative capital expenditures of $24.5 million. We anticipate cumulative capital expenditures related to the ramp of our national contract to be in the $35 million range. We have lowered our expected capital expenditure range related to the implementation of our SASSA contract given the decision to expense the cost of smart cards rather than capitalize those costs.

Results of Operations by Segment and Liquidity

Our frequently asked questions and operating metrics will be updated and posted on our website (www.net1.com).

South African transaction-based activities

Segment revenue was $61.4 million in Q1 2013, up 23% compared with Q1 2012 in USD and up 43% on a constant currency basis. In ZAR, the increases in segment revenue were primarily due to higher revenues earned under our new SASSA contract and higher prepaid airtime sales, offset by lower volumes at EasyPay and MediKredit. Segment operating income margin was 10% and 40%, respectively, and declined primarily due to SASSA implementation costs and higher low-margin prepaid airtime sales. Excluding amortization of acquisition-related intangibles, Q1 2013 segment operating income margin was 13%, compared to 43% during Q1 2012.

International transaction-based activities

KSNET continues to contribute the majority of our revenues in this operating segment. Segment revenue was $31.6 million in Q1 2013, up 5% compared with Q1 2012 in USD and 22% on a constant currency basis. Operating margin for the segment is lower than most of our South African transaction-based businesses and was negatively impacted by adverse currency movement between the Korean won and the US dollar, additional start-up expenditures related to our XeoHealth launch in the United States, MVC activities at Net1 UTA and on-going losses at Net1 Virtual Card, but these expenses were partially offset by increased revenue contributions from KSNET and NUETS' initiative in Iraq. Excluding the amortization of intangibles but including the start-up costs referenced above, Q1 2013 operating income margin was 9% compared to 13% during Q1 2012.

Smart card accounts

Segment revenue was $8.4 million in Q1 2013, up 1% compared with Q1 2012 in USD and 18% on a constant currency basis. Q1 2013 segment operating income margin was 29%, compared to 45% during Q1 2012. We have reduced our pricing for smart card accounts after taking into consideration the lower price and higher volumes of the new SASSA contract.

Financial services

UEPS-based lending contributes the majority of the revenue and operating income in this operating segment. Segment revenue was $1.4 million in Q1 2013, down 34% compared with Q1 2012 in USD and 22% lower on a constant currency basis, principally due to a decrease in lending activities. Q1 2013 segment operating income margin was 79% compared with 67% during Q1 2012 primarily as a result of an improved margin in our UEPS-based lending book resulting from a better loss experience, offset by start-up expenditures related to Smart Life and other financial services offerings.

Hardware, software and related technology sales

Segment revenue was $8.9 million in Q1 2013, down 5% compared with Q1 2012 in USD but up 10% on a constant currency basis. In constant currency, the increase in revenue and operating income resulted primarily from an increase in royalty fees, offset by a lower contribution from all other contributors to hardware and software sales. Excluding amortization of all intangibles, segment operating income margin was 22% compared to 21% during Q1 2012.

Cash flow and liquidity

At September 30, 2012, we had cash and cash equivalents of $58 million, up from $39 million at June 30, 2012. The increase in our cash balances from June 30, 2012, was primarily from cash generated from operations, offset by implementation costs and capital expenditures incurred to implement our SASSA contract and the cash portion of the purchase price of the acquisition of Pbel, a software development firm focused on mobile phones and kiosks, for $1.9 million. For Q1 2013, net cash generated by operating activities was $25.7 million compared with $27.2 million in Q1 2012.

Excluding the impact of interest received, interest paid under our Korean debt and taxes paid, the decrease in cash provided by operating activities resulted from significant implementation costs related to our SASSA contract, partially offset by cash generated from operations. Capital expenditures for Q1 2013 and 2012 were $6.5 million and $4.5 million, respectively, and have increased primarily due to acquisition of payment vehicles and other equipment for our new SASSA contract and payment processing terminals in Korea.

Use of Non-GAAP Measures

US securities laws require that when we publish any non-GAAP measures, we disclose the reason for using the non-GAAP measure and provide reconciliation to the directly comparable GAAP measure. The presentation of fundamental net income and fundamental earnings per share and headline earnings per share are non-GAAP measures.

Fundamental net income and fundamental earnings per share

Fundamental net income and earnings per share is GAAP net income and earnings per share to adjusted for (1) the amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets (net of deferred taxes), (2) stock-based compensation charges and (3) unusual non-recurring items, including the amortization of KSNET debt facility fees, transaction-related costs and the profit on liquidation of SmartSwitch Nigeria. Management believes that the fundamental net income and earnings per share metric enhances its own evaluation, as well as an investor's understanding, of our financial performance. Attachment B presents the reconciliation between GAAP and fundamental net income and earnings per share.

Headline earnings per share ("HEPS")

The inclusion of HEPS in this press release is a requirement of our listing on the JSE. HEPS basic and diluted is calculated using net income which has been determined based on GAAP. Accordingly, this may differ to the headline earnings per share calculation of other companies listed on the JSE as these companies may report their financial results under a different financial reporting framework, including but not limited to, International Financial Reporting Standards.

HEPS basic and diluted is calculated as GAAP net income adjusted for the profit on sale of property, plant and equipment, net of related tax effects, and the profit on liquidation of SmartSwitch Nigeria. Attachment C presents the reconciliation between our net income used to calculate earnings per share basic and diluted and HEPS basic and diluted.

Conference Call

We will host a conference call to review Q1 2013 results on November 9, 2012, at 8:00 Eastern Time. To participate in the call, dial 1-800-860-2442 (U.S. only), 1-866-605-3852 (Canada only), 0-800-917-7042 (U.K. only) or 0-800-200-648 (South Africa only) ten minutes prior to the start of the call. Callers should request "Net1 call" upon dial-in. The call will also be webcast on our homepage, www.net1.com. Please click on the webcast link at least ten minutes prior to the call. A webcast of the call will be available for replay on our website through November 30, 2012.

About Net1 (www.net1.com)

Net1 is a leading provider of alternative payment systems that leverage its Universal Electronic Payment System, or UEPS, to facilitate biometrically secure real-time electronic transaction processing to unbanked and under-banked populations of developing economies around the world in an online or offline environment. In addition to payments, UEPS can be used for banking, healthcare management, payroll, remittances, voting and identification.

Net1 operates market-leading payment processors in South Africa, Republic of Korea, Ghana and Iraq. In addition, Net1's proprietary Mobile Virtual Card technology offers secure mobile payments and banking services in developed and emerging countries while its MediKredit and XeoHealth subsidiaries provide its proprietary 5010 and ICD-10 compliant real-time claims adjudication system.

Net1 has a primary listing on the Nasdaq and a secondary listing on the JSE Limited.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. A discussion of various factors that cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements are included in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to revise any of these statements to reflect future events.

                       NET 1 UEPS TECHNOLOGIES INC.
         Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

                                                      Three months ended
                                                   ------------------------
                                                         September 30,
                                                   ------------------------
                                                           2012        2011
                                                   ------------------------
                                                      (In thousands, except
                                                            per share data)

REVENUE                                                $111,682     $99,926

EXPENSE

  Cost of goods sold, IT processing, servicing and
   support                                               45,101      32,944

  Selling, general and administration                    47,252      27,057

  Depreciation and amortization                          10,004       9,079

                                                   ------------------------
OPERATING INCOME                                          9,325      30,846

INTEREST INCOME                                           3,091       1,997

INTEREST EXPENSE                                          2,071       2,616
                                                   ------------------------

INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES                               10,345      30,227

INCOME TAX EXPENSE                                        3,729      10,552
                                                   ------------------------

NET INCOME BEFORE EARNINGS FROM EQUITY-ACCOUNTED
 INVESTMENTS                                              6,616      19,675

EARNINGS FROM EQUITY-ACCOUNTED INVESTMENTS                  128          85
                                                   ------------------------

NET INCOME                                                6,744      19,760

LESS (ADD) NET INCOME (LOSS) ATTRIBUTABLE TO NON-
 CONTROLLING INTEREST                                         -         (8)

                                                   ------------------------
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO NET1                          $6,744     $19,768
                                                   ------------------------
                                                   ------------------------

Net income per share, in United States dollars
  Basic earnings attributable to Net1 shareholders        $0.15       $0.44
  Diluted earnings attributable to Net1
   shareholders                                           $0.15       $0.44



                       NET 1 UEPS TECHNOLOGIES INC.
                   Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

                                                      Unaudited         (A)
                                                      September
                                                            30,    June 30,
                                                           2012        2012
                                                   ------------------------
                                                   ------------------------
                                                     (In thousands, except
                                                          share data)
                                   ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS
  Cash and cash equivalents                             $57,544     $39,123
  Pre-funded social welfare grants receivable             8,971       9,684
  Accounts receivable, net of allowances of -
  September: $955; June: $788                            99,703     101,918
  Finance loans receivable                                6,787       8,141
  Deferred expenditure on smart cards                     4,604       4,587
  Inventory                                               7,129       6,192
  Deferred income taxes                                   6,223       5,591
                                                   ------------------------
    Total current assets before settlement assets       190,961     175,236
      Settlement assets                                 347,672     409,166
                                                   ------------------------
        Total current assets                            538,633     584,402
PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT, NET OF ACCUMULATED
DEPRECIATION OF - September: $80,058; June: $74,242      54,475      52,616
EQUITY-ACCOUNTED INVESTMENTS                              1,571       1,508
GOODWILL                                                187,570     182,737
INTANGIBLE ASSETS, net                                   93,327      93,930
OTHER LONG-TERM ASSETS, including reinsurance
 assets                                                  40,570      40,700
                                                   ------------------------
  TOTAL ASSETS                                          916,146     955,893
                                                   ------------------------
                                                   ------------------------

                                LIABILITIES
CURRENT LIABILITIES
  Accounts payable                                       14,722      13,172
  Other payables                                         40,209      42,157
  Current portion of long-term borrowings                14,438      14,019
  Income taxes payable                                   11,542       6,019
                                                   ------------------------
    Total current liabilities before settlement
    obligations                                          80,911      75,367
      Settlement obligations                            347,672     409,166
                                                   ------------------------
        Total current liabilities                       428,583     484,533
DEFERRED INCOME TAXES                                    21,065      20,988
LONG-TERM BORROWINGS                                     82,145      79,760
OTHER LONG-TERM LIABILITIES, including insurance
 policy liabilities                                      25,998      25,791
                                                   ------------------------
TOTAL LIABILITIES                                       557,791     611,072
                                                   ------------------------
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

                                   EQUITY
NET1 EQUITY:
  COMMON STOCK
    Authorized: 200,000,000 with $0.001 par value;
    Issued and outstanding shares, net of treasury
    - September: 45,600,471; June: 45,548,902                59          59
  PREFERRED STOCK
    Authorized shares: 50,000,000 with $0.001 par
     value;
    Issued and outstanding shares, net of treasury:
     2012: -; 2011: -                                         -           -
  ADDITIONAL PAID-IN-CAPITAL                            155,895     153,360
  TREASURY SHARES, AT COST: September: 13,455,090;
   June: 13,455,090                                   (175,823)   (175,823)
  ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE LOSS                 (71,467)    (75,722)
  RETAINED EARNINGS                                     446,385     439,641
                                                   ------------------------
    TOTAL NET1 EQUITY                                   355,049     341,515
    NON-CONTROLLING INTEREST                              3,306       3,306
                                                   ------------------------
      TOTAL EQUITY                                      358,355     344,821
                                                   ------------------------

                                                   ------------------------
        TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY     $916,146    $955,893
                                                   ------------------------
                                                   ------------------------

(A) - Derived from audited financial statements


                       NET 1 UEPS TECHNOLOGIES INC.
         Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

                                                      Three months ended
                                                   ------------------------
                                                         September 30,
                                                   ------------------------
                                                           2012        2011
                                                   ------------------------
                                                             (In thousands)

Cash flows from operating activities
Net income                                               $6,744     $19,760
Depreciation and amortization                            10,004       9,079
Loss from equity-accounted investments                    (128)        (85)
Fair value adjustments                                    (293)       (221)
Interest payable                                          1,192       1,662
Profit on disposal of property, plant and equipment           -         (8)
Profit on liquidation of SmartSwitch Nigeria                  -     (3,994)
Realized loss on sale of investments related to
 insurance business                                           -          25
Stock-based compensation charge                           1,116         496
Facility fee amortized                                       88         116
Decrease in accounts receivable, pre-funded social
 welfare grants receivable and finance loans
 receivable                                               5,892       3,248
(Increase) Decrease in deferred expenditure on
 smart cards                                               (33)          44
Increase in inventory                                     (926)       (319)
(Decrease ) Increase in accounts payable and other
 payables                                               (1,349)         331
Increase (Decrease) in taxes payable                      5,438     (3,607)
Increase (Decrease) in deferred taxes                   (2,016)         692
                                                   ------------------------
  Net cash provided by operating activities              25,729      27,219
                                                   ------------------------

Cash flows from investing activities
Capital expenditures                                    (6,453)     (4,466)
Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and
 equipment                                                  105          94
Acquisition of Pbel, net of cash acquired               (1,913)           -
Acquisition of Smart Life, net of cash acquired               -     (1,673)
Repayment of loan by equity-accounted investment              3          33
Purchase of investments related to insurance
 business                                                     -     (2,320)
Proceeds from maturity of investments related to
 insurance business                                         545       2,321
Net change in settlement assets                          60,779       3,447
                                                   ------------------------
  Net cash provided by (used in) investing
   activities                                            53,066     (2,564)
                                                   ------------------------

Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from issue of common stock                         240           -
Acquisition of treasury stock                                 -     (1,129)
Net change in settlement obligations                   (60,779)     (3,447)
                                                   ------------------------
Net cash used in financing activities                  (60,539)     (4,576)
                                                   ------------------------

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash                     165    (13,360)
                                                   ------------------------

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents                18,421       6,719

Cash and cash equivalents - beginning of period          39,123      95,264
                                                   ------------------------

Cash and cash equivalents - end of period               $57,544    $101,983
                                                   ------------------------
                                                   ------------------------

Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc.

Attachment A

Operating segment revenue, operating income and operating margin:

Three months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 and June 30, 2012

                                                                Change -
                                                                constant
                                                  Change -      exchange
                                                   actual        rate(1)
                                               ----------------------------
                                                 Q1'13  Q1'13  Q1'13  Q1'13
Key segmental data, in                              vs     vs     vs     vs
$ '000,                  Q1'13   Q1'12    Q4'12  Q1'12  Q4'12  Q1'12  Q4'12
                      -----------------------------------------------------
Revenue:
  SA transaction-based
   activities           61,364  49,902   58,434    23%     5%    43%     8%
  International
   transaction-based
   activities           31,649  30,255   31,003     5%     2%    22%     5%
  Smart card accounts    8,364   8,252    8,189     1%     2%    18%     5%
  Financial services     1,384   2,111    1,777  (34%)  (22%)  (24%)  (20%)
  Hardware, software
   and related
   technology sales      8,921   9,406    8,213   (5%)     9%    10%    12%
                      -------------------------
    Total consolidated
     revenue           111,682  99,926  107,616    12%     4%    30%     7%
                      -------------------------

Consolidated operating
(loss) income:
  SA transaction-based
   activities            6,400  20,183    5,181  (68%)    24%  (63%)    27%
                      -----------------------------------------------------
    Operating income
     excluding
     amortization        7,849  21,589    6,809  (64%)    15%  (58%)    19%
    Amortization of
     intangible assets (1,449) (1,406)  (1,628)     3%  (11%)    20%   (8%)
                      -----------------------------------------------------
  International
   transaction-based
   activities            (171)     684      137     nm     nm     nm     nm
                      -----------------------------------------------------
    Operating income
     excluding
     amortization        2,981   3,991    3,130  (25%)   (5%)  (13%)   (2%)
    Amortization of
     intangible assets (3,152) (3,307)  (2,993)   (5%)     5%    11%     8%
                      -----------------------------------------------------
  Smart card accounts    2,385   3,750    2,333  (36%)     2%  (26%)     5%
  Financial services     1,097   1,411      951  (22%)    15%   (9%)    19%
  Hardware, software
   and related
   technology sales      1,984   1,937    2,074     2%   (4%)    19%   (2%)
                      -----------------------------------------------------
    Operating income
     excluding
     amortization        2,072   2,038    2,164     2%   (4%)    18%   (2%)
    Amortization of
     intangible assets    (88)   (101)     (90)  (13%)   (2%)     1%     1%
                      -----------------------------------------------------
  Corporate/
   Eliminations        (2,370)   2,881 (13,078)     nm  (82%)     nm  (81%)
                      -------------------------
    Total operating
     income              9,325  30,846  (2,402)  (70%)     nm  (65%)     nm
                      -------------------------

Operating income
margin (%)
  SA transaction-based
   activities              10%     40%       9%
  International
   transaction-based
   activities             (1%)      2%       0%
  International
   transaction-based
   activities excluding
   amortization             9%     13%      10%
  Smart card accounts      29%     45%      28%
  Financial services       79%     67%      54%
  Hardware, software
   and related
   technology sales        22%     21%      25%
  Overall operating
   margin                   8%     31%     (2%)

(1) - This information shows what the change in these items would have been
if the USD/ ZAR exchange rate that prevailed during 1Q 2013 also prevailed
during 1Q 2012 and 4Q 2012.

Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc.

Attachment B

Reconciliation of GAAP net income and earnings per share, basic, to fundamental net income and earnings per share, basic:

Three months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011

                                                                   EPS,
                      Net income   EPS, basic      Net income      basic
                       (USD'000)      (USD)        (ZAR'000)       (ZAR)
                    --------------------------  ---------------------------
                       2012   2011  2012  2011     2012    2011  2012  2011
                    --------------------------  ---------------------------

GAAP                  6,744 19,768  0.15  0.44   55,709 140,232  1.22  3.11

  Intangible asset
   amortization, net  3,501  3,498               28,917  24,816
  Stock-based
   compensation
   charge             1,116    496                9,219   3,519
  Facility fees for
   KSNET debt            89    116                  735     823
  Acquisition-
   related costs         48      -                  396       -
  Profit on
   liquidation of
   SmartSwitch
   Nigeria                - (3,994)                   - (28,333)
                    --------------              ---------------
    Fundamental      11,498 19,884  0.25  0.44   94,976 141,057  2.09  3.13
                    --------------              ---------------
                    --------------              ---------------

Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc.

Attachment C

Reconciliation of net income used to calculate earnings per share basic and diluted and headline earnings per share basic and diluted:

Three months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011

                                                             2012      2011
                                                       --------------------

Net income (USD'000)                                        6,744    19,768
Adjustments:
  Profit on liquidation of SmartSwitch Nigeria
   (USD'000)                                                    -   (3,994)
  Profit on sale of property, plant and equipment               -       (8)
  Tax effects on above                                          -         3

                                                       --------------------
Net income used to calculate headline earnings
 (USD'000)                                                  6,744    15,769
                                                       --------------------
                                                       --------------------

Weighted average number of shares used to calculate net
 income per share basic earnings and headline earnings
 per share basic earnings ('000)                           45,515    45,055

Weighted average number of shares used to calculate net
 income per share diluted earnings and headline earnings
 per share diluted earnings ('000)                         45,590    45,085

Headline earnings per share:
  Basic, in USD                                              0.15      0.35
  Diluted, in USD                                            0.15      0.35