eServGlobal Limited (ASX:ESV) Announces Its Results For The Six Months Ending 31 December 2008

eServGlobal Limited (LSE:ESG)(ASX:ESV), a provider of end-to-end solutions, enabling smart communication and payment services for service providers on any generation network, today announces its results for the six months ended 31 December 2008.

Sales revenue for the first half was AUD83.1 million, compared with AUD91.1 million for the previous corresponding period. EBITDA for the first half was AUD7.1 million, compared with AUD13.2m in the previous corresponding period, partly due to costs associated with our restructuring programme.

The EBITDA figure for the first half of AUD7.1 million was recorded after the capitalisation of development expenditure, incurred during the period, of AUD2.5 million, relating to the development of eServGlobal's HomeSend platform, announced on 16 February 2009. The capitalisation of the development expenditure is in accordance with the Company's accounting policies because no revenue for the HomeSend platform is expected to be generated in the FY09 year.

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                               Six months to     Six months to
                                31 Dec 2008       31 Dec 2007
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                                   AUD '000          AUD '000
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Sales Revenue                        83,093            91,194
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Cost of Sales                        41,560            43,572
Gross Profit                         41,533            47,622
Other Revenue                           214               121
Research & Development Costs         11,060            14,622
Sales & Marketing Costs              11,849             8,176
Administration Costs                 11,773            11,753
Total Opex                           34,682            34,551
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EBITDA                                7,065            13,192
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Depreciation                          1,708             1,492
Amortisation                          3,847             3,411
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EBIT                                  1,520             8,289
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Interest Expense                        105               169
Profit before Tax                     1,415             8,120
Tax Expense / (Benefit)                 689             2,875
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Profit after Tax                        726             5,245
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Minority Interest                       124                51
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Profit attributable to members          602             5,194
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Net cash reserves at 31 December 2008 were AUD10.2 million (AUD2.6 million at 31
December 2007).

Operational Review

Mr. Ian Buddery, Executive Chairman of eServGlobal, said, "The first half EBITDA was impacted by our restructuring programme, which will transfer headcount and infrastructure to our low cost locations in Romania and India and which will begin to bring cost savings in the second half of this fiscal year, taking full effect in the 2010 fiscal year.

"The Company is rapidly innovating and creating new opportunities. Our SRM (Social Relationship Manager) announced on 9 February 2009, enables telecoms operators to engage with a potential market of over 650 million social network website users and features an innovative deployment model, which allows us to penetrate new accounts with a compelling business benefit.

"GSMA, the global mobile operators' association, recently selected eServGlobal's HomeSend service as one of three remittance platforms endorsed for their 750 GSM mobile phone operators and 3 billion subscribers worldwide. HomeSend is the only mobile-centric platform and represents both a new revenue channel for operators and a cost saving for subscribers.

The Juniper Research study of 4 February 2009 indicated that the mobile money transfer market will reach at least US$73bn by 2011.

"The global telecommunications market is being affected by the global economic downturn, however eServGlobal is able to deliver solutions now that maximise operator revenues in the short term, while we continue to develop new products that will position us as a leader in the next wave of telecommunications growth."

Outlook

We believe that the second half will demonstrate improved revenue and profit performance and a momentum for continuing growth in FY10, driven by demand for our new products and recovering subscriber growth in emerging countries.

The formal process involving a shortlist of potential acquirers of the Company, referred to in the Shareholder Update of 30 January 2009, is continuing and further announcements will be made in due course.

About eServGlobal Limited

eServGlobal (LSE: ESG & ASX: ESV) develops and implements convergent charging and rating, mobile payment, network services and messaging products for over 80 operators in more than 50 countries in mobile, fixed and IMS network environments.

Our comprehensive offering enables innovative subscriber services with real-time control and improved financial performance. We help operators to grow new revenues, reduce churn and lower their costs.

eServGlobal's Convergent Charging Suite responds to increasingly sophisticated charging and billing challenges while providing advanced top up and mobile payment solutions. Our Messaging Suite enables multimedia services such as unified messaging, video blog, SMS and IM. We deliver WEB2.0, Mashup and Social Network applications, meeting customer demand for new communication experiences.

With 16 offices around the world and staff from 30 different countries, we provide flexible end-to-end solutions with ongoing product development and worldwide implementation, integration and support services.

 

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