TIDMBOKU
RNS Number : 7305F
Boku Inc
20 July 2021
20 July 2021
Boku, Inc.
("Boku" or the "Company" and, together with its subsidiaries,
the "Group")
Trading Update for the six months ended 30 June 2021
Substantial growth in the first half across the Group
Boku, a leading global mobile payment and mobile identity
company, is pleased to provide the following unaudited trading
update for the six months ended 30 June 2021.
Group
-- Group Revenues for H1 2021 are expected to be at least
$34.0m, an increase of 37% vs. H1 2020 ($24.7m)
o Underlying Group revenue* growth strong at 21.0% (excluding
acquired Fortumo revenues)
-- Group adjusted EBITDA** expected to be at least $9.6 million,
an increase of 50% vs. H1 2020 ($6.4 million)
-- Group revenue and adjusted EBITDA for the full year expected to be ahead of expectations.
-- Group cash of $48.6 million at 30 June 2021 (30 June 2020: $36.2 million***)
o $11.25 million of the $20 million debt used to acquire Fortumo
paid down
-- The average daily cash balance - a measure which smooths out
the effect of carrier and merchant payments, was $38.0 million in
June 2021 (June 2020: $25.7 million)
Payments division
-- H1 2021 Payments revenue increased to at least $30.5m, an
increase of 39% vs. H1 2020 ($22.0m)
o Underlying Payments revenue* growth of 20.0% (excluding
Fortumo revenues acquired 1 July 2020)
-- Total Payment Volume ("TPV")**** of $4.0 billion in H1 2021,
an increase of 29% vs. H1 2020 ($3.1 billion)
-- 29.7 million Monthly Active Users ("MAU") of the Boku
platform in June 2021 (June 2020: 20.3 million), a 46% increase
o Underlying growth in MAUs (excluding Fortumo) of 28%
-- 20.8 million new users made their first transaction with the
Group during the first half of the year, 92% up on the prior
year
o At Group level the number of new users increased materially
due to the inclusion of transactional merchants from Fortumo;
excluding Fortumo data, new users increased by 8% to 11.7
million
-- H1 2021 take rate stable at 0.7%, in line with H2 2020 (including Fortumo volumes)
-- Launches in H1 2021 with Google, Netflix, DAZN, Spotify, Epic
Games, Amazon, Riot Games and Tinder across both DCB and
Wallets
-- Boku has materially expanded its regulated payment activities
with licences that now cover 35 markets in Europe and Asia, up from
one market, the UK, at the start of the year
-- Fortumo's twelve month earnout period concluded on 30 June 2021:
o The final earn-out payment, based on Fortumo EBITDA
performance, is still to be finalised, however is not expected to
exceed 50% of the $5.4 million currently held in escrow
o The agreed payout percentage will be applied and paid to
Fortumo's former shareholders by 30 September 2021, with the
balance returned to Boku
Identity division
-- Identity revenue of up $3.5 million, an increase of 30% vs.
H1 2020 ($2.7 million) and EBITDA losses reduced from H1 2020;
performance in line with the Board's expectations
-- Connections added in Spain, Italy and Indonesia, together
with a strengthening of the global partnership with Vodafone
Group
-- Strong growth from key existing customers complemented by a
ramp up in transaction volumes from new mobile wallet customers in
Indonesia
* 2020 H1 comparative excludes any revenues from Fortumo
Holdings Inc ('Fortumo') which was acquired on 1(st) July 2020
** Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxation,
depreciation and amortization): Adjusted for stock option expenses,
Forex gains/losses and Exceptional items
*** Comparative group cash balance at 30 June 2020 of $80.44
million included $44.5 million of cash held to pay for the
acquisition of Fortumo on 1 July 2020. Excluding this cash, the
balances were $36.2 million
**** TPV is the US$ value of transactions processed by the Boku platform
Jon Prideaux, Boku's CEO, commented : "We are pleased with the
first half results, with revenues and EBITDA expected to be well
ahead of the same period last year. With both Identity and Payments
showing strong growth, and with Group revenue and EBITDA both
running ahead of expectations, there is much to be pleased
about.
"Results look backwards to past achievements, but, looking
forward, I am even more excited about our prospects. The main task
of our Payments business has always been to help our merchants to
reach mobile consumers. We are now broadening the range of payment
methods that we support to include not just direct carrier billing
('DCB'), but increasingly e-wallets and now also real time bank
payments - helping our merchants to reach more customers for a
greater portion of their spending.
"Building out this network of 'Mobile First' payment methods and
simplifying its implementation to be more plug-and-play unlocks an
opportunity which could be many times the size of our current
business. By first cross selling into our existing digital
merchants, then expanding our scope to cover new sectors, such as
digital booking services and ecommerce, we can increase the value
of transactions that we process. We will be investing in both our
product suite and in sales and marketing in the second half and
into 2022 to take advantage of the many opportunities
available.
"The acquisition of Fortumo last year has been successful and
has consolidated our strong market position in mobile payments.
Part of the total consideration was based on Fortumo's adjusted
EBITDA performance for the 12 month period ended 30 June 2021. To
achieve full payout of the $5.4 million held in escrow, Fortumo had
to achieve adjusted EBITDA significantly ahead of market
expectations. The results have still to be finalised, but the
payout is expected be no more than 50% of the maximum amount. The
unpaid escrow balance will be returned to Boku.
"Our Identity division performed strongly returning to growth
with revenues up 30% in the first half and further reduced EBITDA
losses. We are particularly encouraged by the growth in revenues
from new products to new customers, primarily in Asia, as we expand
the business away from its US base. As a result we expect the
Identity business to show increased revenues and further reduced
losses for the full year.
"With growth in both Payments and Identity divisions I am
confident that the full year Group performance will be ahead of
expectations."
Enquiries:
Boku, Inc.
Jon Prideaux, Chief Executive Officer +44 (0)20 3934
Keith Butcher, Chief Financial Officer 6630
Peel Hunt LLP (Nominated Adviser and Broker) +44 (0)20 7418
Edward Knight / Paul Gillam / Nick Prowting 8900
IFC Advisory Limited (Financial PR & IR) +44 (0)20 3934
Tim Metcalfe / Graham Herring / Florence Chandler 6630
This announcement contains inside information. The person
responsible for arranging and authorising the release of this
announcement is Keith Butcher, Chief Financial Officer.
Notes to Editors
Boku Inc. (AIM: BOKU) is a leading global provider of mobile
payment and identity solutions. Boku technology is integrated into
over 220 mobile wallets and network operators worldwide powering
mobile user authentication and mobile payments. Boku processes over
800 million transactions worth more than $7 billion annually in
nearly 70 countries. Global leaders that rely on Boku to acquire,
monetise, and protect digital consumer transactions include Apple,
Discover, Experian, Facebook, FIS, Fiserv, Google, Microsoft,
Netflix, Paypal, Sony, Spotify and Western Union.
Boku Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in
London, UK, with offices in various locations globally including in
the US, Mumbai, Estonia, Munich, Beijing, Paris, Sao Paulo,
Singapore, Taipei, and Tokyo.
To learn more about Boku Inc., please visit:
https://www.boku.com .
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END
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