Euronet Worldwide Fourth Quarter Results to Meet or Exceed Expectations
Euronet Worldwide Fourth Quarter Results to Meet or Exceed Expectations
Euronet Worldwide Fourth Quarter Results to Meet or Exceed Expectations LEAWOOD, KANSAS, USA - Euronet Worldwide (Nasdaq: EEFT), a leading provider of secure electronic financial transaction solutions, announced today that its fourth quarter 2000 results are expected to meet or exceed analysts’ estimates for revenue and EBITDA. The Company attributes the positive fourth quarter results to continued growth of transactions in its Network Services division and the initial impact of cost reduction measures taken by the Company during the third quarter. Euronet will announce its fourth quarter results in late February.
Additionally, Euronet today announced that it will make workforce reductions in its software division to improve the performance of this division and will focus its business on outsourcing and new payment solutions.
“Our core strategy is to provide secure financial payment solutions for retail banks, financial institutions, and mobile operators and we will continue to execute against it,” said Michael Brown, Euronet Chairman and CEO. "We have prioritized our business initiatives and we are confident the steps we are taking today will make us a stronger company, which will benefit our employees, customers and shareholders."
Euronet will reduce its worldwide workforce by 20 percent, with the bulk of the reductions made in its software division in North America. This reduction reflects the changing needs of the Company’s customer base that require outsourcing solutions versus traditional software applications. It is also intended to improve the financial performance of the Company’s software division and to provide ongoing resources to reinvest in developing new payment technologies. Euronet will maintain its customer support centers in both Europe and North America to provide ongoing support to its more than 200 software clients. It is not anticipated these reductions will result in substantial restructuring charges.
This action taken today will support the Company’s plan to become EBITDA positive in the second quarter and for the balance of the year.
“The reduction in our workforce reflects the changing face of the software business,” said Michael Brown. “Financial institutions are moving more towards outsourcing solutions. This trend impacts the software component of our business but positively influences our outsourcing business. We have realigned our staffing plan to respond to this changing marketplace.”
In addition, Euronet has formed a new technology division to focus on new payment solutions for mobile operators and to leverage its existing client base of wireless and Internet banking customers.
“The combination of our expertise in handling secure electronic financial transactions and the proliferation of wireless devices provides one of the most exciting opportunities in our company’s history,” said Brown. “We are uniquely positioned to be a key payment processor for mobile operators.”
Daniel Henry, COO of Euronet said: “Our key focus areas – ATM/POS outsourcing, bill payment, new technology solutions including wireless banking, event messaging and mobile operator payment solutions will provide significant opportunities for growth. Our customer base and the new products we are developing will provide continued growth to our transaction processing business.”
Last week the company announced it established a transaction record for the year 2000 with a 60% increase over 1999. This growth trend continued during the fourth quarter of 2000, typically the highest transaction period, with an increase of 39% over Q4 1999. The transaction growth is extremely positive considering that the number of Euronet ATM’s grew by 15% during 2000.
Reflecting the Company’s commitment for developing wireless banking and event messaging applications, the Company has recently announced an agreement with Aether Systems in the USA to market an expanding suite of wireless financial service products in an end-to-end, Application Service Provider (ASP) solution. In addition, the Company announced a partnership agreement with Alltel, for a first-of-its-kind software application allowing wireless Internet customers to access their bank accounts held at virtually any bank in the world.
About Euronet Worldwide
Euronet Worldwide is a global provider of secure electronic financial transaction solutions. Euronet's financial payment middleware, financial network gateways, outsourcing and consulting services enable its customer banks, financial institutions, and mobile operators to provide their clientele access to personal financial information and to perform secure financial transactions -- any time, any place. Euronet’s Integrated Transaction Management (ITM) secure payment technology, powers financial transaction solutions for more than 200 clients in 60 countries as well as the company’s processing centers located in the United States, Europe and Indonesia. Euronet was recently ranked number two on the Deloitte & Touche Technical Fast 500, a ranking of the fastest growing technology companies in North America. The company owns and operates the largest independent ATM network in Europe with corporate headquarters in Leawood, Kansas, USA, and European headquarters in Budapest, Hungary.
Any statements contained in this news release that concern the Company's or management's intentions, expectations, or are predictions of future performance, are forward-looking statements. Euronet's actual results may vary materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including: technological developments affecting the market for the Company’s products and services; competition; foreign exchange fluctuations; and changes in laws and regulations affecting the Company's business. These risks and other risks are described in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to Euronet's Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 1999 and Forms 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, June 30, 2000 and September 30, 2000. Copies of these filings may be obtained by contacting the Company or the SEC.
Additionally, Euronet today announced that it will make workforce reductions in its software division to improve the performance of this division and will focus its business on outsourcing and new payment solutions.
“Our core strategy is to provide secure financial payment solutions for retail banks, financial institutions, and mobile operators and we will continue to execute against it,” said Michael Brown, Euronet Chairman and CEO. "We have prioritized our business initiatives and we are confident the steps we are taking today will make us a stronger company, which will benefit our employees, customers and shareholders."
Euronet will reduce its worldwide workforce by 20 percent, with the bulk of the reductions made in its software division in North America. This reduction reflects the changing needs of the Company’s customer base that require outsourcing solutions versus traditional software applications. It is also intended to improve the financial performance of the Company’s software division and to provide ongoing resources to reinvest in developing new payment technologies. Euronet will maintain its customer support centers in both Europe and North America to provide ongoing support to its more than 200 software clients. It is not anticipated these reductions will result in substantial restructuring charges.
This action taken today will support the Company’s plan to become EBITDA positive in the second quarter and for the balance of the year.
“The reduction in our workforce reflects the changing face of the software business,” said Michael Brown. “Financial institutions are moving more towards outsourcing solutions. This trend impacts the software component of our business but positively influences our outsourcing business. We have realigned our staffing plan to respond to this changing marketplace.”
In addition, Euronet has formed a new technology division to focus on new payment solutions for mobile operators and to leverage its existing client base of wireless and Internet banking customers.
“The combination of our expertise in handling secure electronic financial transactions and the proliferation of wireless devices provides one of the most exciting opportunities in our company’s history,” said Brown. “We are uniquely positioned to be a key payment processor for mobile operators.”
Daniel Henry, COO of Euronet said: “Our key focus areas – ATM/POS outsourcing, bill payment, new technology solutions including wireless banking, event messaging and mobile operator payment solutions will provide significant opportunities for growth. Our customer base and the new products we are developing will provide continued growth to our transaction processing business.”
Last week the company announced it established a transaction record for the year 2000 with a 60% increase over 1999. This growth trend continued during the fourth quarter of 2000, typically the highest transaction period, with an increase of 39% over Q4 1999. The transaction growth is extremely positive considering that the number of Euronet ATM’s grew by 15% during 2000.
Reflecting the Company’s commitment for developing wireless banking and event messaging applications, the Company has recently announced an agreement with Aether Systems in the USA to market an expanding suite of wireless financial service products in an end-to-end, Application Service Provider (ASP) solution. In addition, the Company announced a partnership agreement with Alltel, for a first-of-its-kind software application allowing wireless Internet customers to access their bank accounts held at virtually any bank in the world.
About Euronet Worldwide
Euronet Worldwide is a global provider of secure electronic financial transaction solutions. Euronet's financial payment middleware, financial network gateways, outsourcing and consulting services enable its customer banks, financial institutions, and mobile operators to provide their clientele access to personal financial information and to perform secure financial transactions -- any time, any place. Euronet’s Integrated Transaction Management (ITM) secure payment technology, powers financial transaction solutions for more than 200 clients in 60 countries as well as the company’s processing centers located in the United States, Europe and Indonesia. Euronet was recently ranked number two on the Deloitte & Touche Technical Fast 500, a ranking of the fastest growing technology companies in North America. The company owns and operates the largest independent ATM network in Europe with corporate headquarters in Leawood, Kansas, USA, and European headquarters in Budapest, Hungary.
Any statements contained in this news release that concern the Company's or management's intentions, expectations, or are predictions of future performance, are forward-looking statements. Euronet's actual results may vary materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including: technological developments affecting the market for the Company’s products and services; competition; foreign exchange fluctuations; and changes in laws and regulations affecting the Company's business. These risks and other risks are described in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to Euronet's Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 1999 and Forms 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, June 30, 2000 and September 30, 2000. Copies of these filings may be obtained by contacting the Company or the SEC.