(Rewrites throughout)
By Rory Gallivan
LONDON--Mobile device banking and payments technology group
Monitise PLC (MONI.LN) Tuesday reiterated full-year revenue
expectations and said it remains in discussions with interested
parties after effectively putting itself up for sale last
month.
The company, which helps customers such as Spanish bank
Santander to facilitate mobile payments and banking, reported a
pretax loss of 58.4 million pounds ($89.3 million) for the six
months ended Dec. 31, up from a GBP23.3 million loss the previous
year, on revenue down to GBP42.4 million from GBP46.5 million.
Full-year revenue is still expected to be between GBP90 million
and GBP100 million, in line with previously reduced guidance, the
company said.
"The announcement of our Strategic Review has led to many
constructive discussions with market-leading players interested in
our business and the role we play in the industry," said chairman
Peter Ayliffe.
Monitise said last month that it would launch a strategic review
to consider options including the company being bought. The
announcement came after a tough year for the company, which
included lowering its revenue growth expectations and payments card
company Visa Inc (V) cutting its stake in the firm.
The company still lists Visa EU, a separate company from Visa
Inc, on its website among its major shareholders.
Monitise also said Tuesday that it has signed a letter of intent
with a unnamed major European financial institution to deploy
Monitise digital banking capabilities in several countries.
It also reiterated its long-term guidance of having 200 million
people using its technology by 2018, each providing revenue of
GBP2.50 a year. The company said it had 33 million users at the end
of 2014, but didn't give specific figures for revenue per user.
Shares at 1021 up 2 pence, or 9.3% at 24 pence, valuing the
company at GBP501.9 million.
-Write to Rory Gallivan at rory.gallivan@wsj.com; Twitter:
@RoryGallivan
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