Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2014 Results

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA–(Marketwired – Feb. 6, 2014) – Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:UEPS)(JSE:NT1) today released results for the second quarter of fiscal 2014.

(1) Fundamental net income and earnings per share are non-GAAP measures and are 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 Q2 2014 and Q2 2013 results

• Unfavorable impact from the strengthening of the US dollar against the ZAR: The US dollar appreciated by 16% against the ZAR during Q2 2014 which negatively impacted our reported results;
• SASSA implementation complete: Our SASSA contract implementation is complete. We incurred implementation-related expenditure, including smart card costs, of approximately $21.0 million during Q2 2013;
• Higher revenue resulting from an increase in low-margin prepaid airtime sales: Our revenue has increased as a result of the growth of our Umoya Manje prepaid airtime offering during Q2 2014, which has lower margins compared with our other South African businesses;
• National rollout of our financial services offering: We continued the national roll out of our financial services offering during Q2 2014, which resulted in higher revenue from UEPS-based lending. Profitability in the financial services segment however was lower due to rollout costs, including hiring and training of additional staff and infrastructure deployment as well as the creation of an allowance for doubtful finance loans receivable;
• Increased contribution by KSNET: Our results were positively impacted by growth in our Korean operations; and
• Ad hoc hardware sales in fiscal 2014: We sold more terminals and cards during Q2 2014 as a result of ad hoc orders received from our customers.

Comments and Outlook

“I am delighted that Net1 is once again demonstrating that it is a growth business, as illustrated by our second quarter and first half results. The last 15 months have been challenging for the Company and its staff, not because of our abilities, potential or execution, but rather because of the negative press coverage we have received for no justifiable reason. I wanted Net1 to emphatically respond, not with press releases, but through its achievements and financial performance,” said Dr. Serge Belamant, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Net1.

“I am particularly delighted that we have now completed bulk registration as per our SASSA contract, and that our technology is running as smoothly as expected, thereby delivering the highest level of service to all our clients anytime and anywhere in the country. We continue to introduce financial or value-added services to our offerings, which we primarily deliver via mobile phones thus reaching our customers even if they reside in the most rural or underserviced areas of South Africa. I am proud that we have facilitated financial inclusion for so many people who have now access to affordable and relevant products designed to improve their livelihood,” he concluded.

“Having completed our significant implementation investments in fiscal 2013, we see continued momentum as a result of the execution of our strategy, in turn driving top and bottom line growth,” said Herman Kotzé, Chief Financial Officer of Net1. “Taking into account the anticipated issuance of 4.4 million shares as part of our proposed BEE transaction around March 15, 2014, for fiscal 2014 we expect fundamental earnings per share of at least $1.60 assuming a constant currency base of ZAR 8.71/$1. The share count assumption in our guidance includes a little more than one quarter of the shares related to our proposed BEE transaction,” he concluded.

Results of Operations by Segment and Liquidity

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

South African transaction-based activities

Segment revenue was $72.2 million in Q2 2014, up 19% compared with Q2 2013 in USD and up 38% on a constant currency basis. In ZAR, the increases in segment revenue were primarily due to higher volumes from the growth of our Umoya Manje prepaid airtime product and from higher transaction activity through the South African National Payment System, both of which have lower margins than our traditional businesses. Segment operating income margin was 19% and 3%, respectively, and increased primarily due to the absence of SASSA implementation costs in Q2 2014. Excluding amortization of acquisition-related intangibles, Q2 2014 segment operating income margin was 19% compared with 6% in Q2 2013.

International transaction-based activities

KSNET contributes the majority of our revenues and operating income in this segment. Segment revenue was $37.2 million in Q2 2014, up 13% compared with Q2 2013 in USD and 31% on a constant currency basis. The increase in segment revenue was primarily due to growth at KSNET during Q2 2014, and was partially offset by the expiration and non-renewal of NUETS’ contract with its Iraqi customer in Q3 2013. Operating income during Q2 2014 was positively impacted by growth at KSNET but partially offset by the loss of the Iraqi contract, continued losses related to our XeoHealth and Net1 Virtual Card launches in the United States, as well as ongoing competition in the Korean marketplace. Excluding the amortization of intangibles, Q2 2014 operating income margin was 13% compared to 11% during Q2 2013.

Smart card accounts

Segment revenue was $11.2 million in Q2 2014, up 37% compared with Q2 2013 in USD and 59% on a constant currency basis driven exclusively by the increase in the number of smart card accounts. Segment operating income margin from providing smart card accounts for Q2 2014 and 2013 was 29% and 28%, respectively.

Financial services

UEPS-based lending contributes the majority of the revenue and operating income in this segment. Segment revenue was $6.2 million in Q2 2014, up 328% compared with Q2 2013 in USD and 398% higher on a constant currency basis, principally due to the increase in the number of loans granted as we rolled out our product nationally. Q2 2014 segment operating income margin was 28% compared with 72% during Q2 2013, lower primarily due to an increase in start-up expenses, establishment of the allowance for doubtful finance loans receivable and the re-allocation of UEPS-based lending corporate and administration overhead expenses to this segment. Smart Life did not contribute to operating income in the first quarter of fiscal 2014 as it is currently unable to issue new insurance policies as a result of the suspension of its license by the Financial Services Board in fiscal 2013.

Hardware, software and related technology sales

Segment revenue was $10.3 million in Q2 2014, up 31% compared with Q2 2013 in USD and 52% on a constant currency basis. The increase in revenue and operating income resulted from higher ad hoc terminal and smart card sales. Excluding amortization of all intangibles, segment operating income margin was 16% compared to 11% during Q2 2013.

Corporate/eliminations

The increase in our corporate expenses resulted primarily from legal fees we incurred in connection with the DOJ and SEC investigations and other corporate head office-related expenses.

Cash flow and liquidity

At December 31, 2013, we had cash and cash equivalents of $22.4 million, down from $53.7 million at June 30, 2013. The decrease in our cash balances from June 30, 2013, was primarily due to the expansion of our UEPS-based lending business, working capital changes, the repayment of a portion of our Korean debt and acquisition of substantially all of the remaining shares of KSNET that we did not already own. During December 2013, we temporarily increased our short-term South African credit facility to ZAR 650 million (comprising a ZAR 500 million overdraft facility to enable us to fund additional working capital requirements and ZAR 150 million of indirect and overdraft facilities). The overdraft portion of the facility will be reduced to ZAR 400 million on March 31, 2014.

Excluding the impact of interest received, interest paid under our Korean debt and taxes, the decrease in cash from operating activities resulted from the expansion of our UEPS-based lending book and the timing of prefunding related to the January 2014 payment cycle, offset by improved cash generated from operating activities and the substantial elimination of implementation costs related to our SASSA contract in fiscal 2014. Capital expenditures for Q2 2014 and 2013 were $6.8 million and $5.6 million, respectively, and have increased primarily due to the acquisition of more 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 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 and DOJ and SEC investigations-related expenses, as well as in fiscal 2013, acquisition-related costs. 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. Attachment C presents the reconciliation between our net income used to calculate earnings per share basic and diluted and HEPS basic and diluted and the calculation of the denominator for headline diluted earnings per share.

Conference Call

We will host a conference call to review Q2 2014 results on February 7, 2014, at 8:00 Eastern Time. To participate in the call, dial 1-855-481-5362 (US and Canada), 0808-162-4061 (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 the Net1 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 the Net1 website through March 2, 2014.

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. Net1’s UEPS/EMV solution is also completely interoperable with global EMV standards that seamlessly permit access to all the UEPS functionality in a traditional EMV 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, and Ghana. 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. In addition, statements relating to our proposed BEE transaction are forward-looking statements. The letter of intent described in this announcement is non-binding and is subject to the completion of definitive documentation that will provide for the satisfaction of conditions to be contained therein before any shares are issued. There can be no assurance that we will enter into definitive agreements on the terms set forth herein, if at all. We undertake no obligation to revise any of these statements to reflect future events.

Weighted average number of shares used to calculate headline earnings per share diluted represent the denominator for basic weighted-average common shares outstanding and unvested restricted shares expected to vest plus the effect of dilutive securities under GAAP. We use this number of fully-diluted shares outstanding to calculate headline earnings per share diluted because we do not use the two-class method to calculate headline earnings per share diluted.