Network International (Network), a key enabler of digital commerce across Africa and the Middle East, said its total revenue for FY 2022 soared to $438.4 million, up 24.5% over the previous year led by stellar performance in its Merchant Services business, which grew its revenue by 41.4% year on year.

 

Announcing its preliminary financial results for the year ended December 31, 2022, Network said its net profit for the year was $80.1 million, up 41.6% year on year driven by the company’s robust ebitda performance.

 

Its underlying ebitda increased to $178.6 million, supporting margin expansion of 240bps to 40.7%, reflecting the company’s largely fixed cost base. 

 

Network said it had made strong progress with its geographic expansion, launching processing solutions in Saudi Arabia. 

 

The company completed its technology deployment in the Kingdom and signed four new financial institutions (FI), bringing its total customer numbers to six, providing a solid underpin to its medium-long term revenue target for the kingdom of $50 million. 

 

Additionally, Network has initiated the process to provide merchant payment services in Saudi Arabia and has successfully received in-principle approval for Major Payment Institution Category license from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). This will further expand the company’s revenue opportunity in Saudi Arabia.

 

Network also launched direct-to-merchant payment services in Egypt in January 2023, adding to its thriving Acquirer and Issuer Processing business which serves over 20 FIs. The company’s focus is on the SME segment, where it seeks to replicate its success in the UAE.

 

The company’s share buyback programme of $100 million is expected to complete during 2023. $40.6 million was repurchased during 2022, and $13 million to year-to-date, with a further $47 million to complete.

 

Managing Director (Saudi Arabia) Abdulaziz Al Dahmash said: "We made exceptional progress in Saudi Arabia with strong demand for our processing solutions services, following our launch earlier in the year. The Kingdom is an extremely important strategic market for Network, as we seek to play a key role in supporting the nation to achieve its Vision 2030 target of 70% digital payments participation."

 

"With a strong customer base and a growing pipeline, we are well on the way to achieving our medium-long term revenue target of $50 million. We expect our revenue opportunity to expand even further, as we embark on the next stage of our journey in Saudi Arabia, having already initiated the process to provide merchant payment services," he added.

 

CEO Nandan Mer said: "We accelerated revenue growth to 24.5% y/y in 2022, having also achieved margin expansion whilst investing in new opportunities. This is the result of our revitalised strategic approach which is creating a more agile and effective business, supported by strong economic growth across our markets and continued acceleration towards digital payments."

 

"We delivered several critical initiatives, including our market entry to Saudi Arabia, merchant payment services in Egypt and the launch of commercial payment services. We expanded our suite of value-added-services, providing a range of new solutions for merchants and financial institutions; and have doubled the Group’s e-commerce revenues through the integration and growth of DPO Group," he added. 

 

On its future outlook, Network said it remains positive for the year with its core markets rapidly transitioning towards digital payments at a pace significantly ahead of more developed economies. 

 

"The company expects revenue growth in the high teens for 2023 in constant currency, with EBITDA margins slightly ahead of 2022," he added.-TradeArabia News Service