5th Nov 2008 07:00
Sydney 5 November, 2008
eServGlobal Limited 2008 Annual General Meeting : Chairman's Address
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am very proud of our achievements in the 2008 Financial Year, with record revenue and profit as well as major new customer additions in Latin America, including the Mexico Number Portability and the Uruguay Convergent Billing solutions. eServGlobal is uniquely positioned given its leading technology and established presence in the world's highest growth telecommunications markets.
eServGlobal has new products coming to market in early calendar year 2009, particularly in the area of Mobile Payments & Remittances. The recently announced Homesend contract with Belgacom ICS is an example of our latest generation mobile transaction platform, a technology which has wide-ranging application for mobile operators. These products, coupled with our existing suite, will ensure that eServGlobal continues to operate at the leading edge of mobile convergent billing and payment solutions.
However due to the uncertainty resulting from global economic conditions in 2008, we are taking a cautious approach to our first half revenue expectations. At this stage our revenue for the six months to 31 December 2008 is expected to be above A$80 million, which compares to A$91.2 million in the corresponding six month period in 2007. We have taken some restructuring action, under our strategy of migrating specific infrastructure to our low cost locations, which will impact first half EBITDA but bring subsequent cost savings.
Our full year expectations however include an uplift in second half performance, due to an increased project backlog from the first half and new opportunities currently in progress. The recent completion of major development projects has also allowed us to reduce the number of contractors in our business, which will further enhance our ongoing profit margin. At the current levels we expect our overall performance for the full year to be in line with the Board's expectations.
We have enjoyed a successful year growing the business in 2008. This has been recognized by potential investors in the company and we have received several preliminary approaches. To coordinate our response and to ensure shareholder value is maximized the Board has appointed ABN Amro Bank N.V. to advise on potential options in relation to these approaches.
The public share markets have been challenging through most of 2008 and we have seen our share price decline despite our excellent performance, strong pipeline and unencumbered balance sheet. The Board believes there is now a substantial disconnect between eServGlobal's prevailing share price and the fundamental valuation of the company. This issue has been recognised and shareholders and customers can be assured of our focus on addressing this, to ensure long term success and value.
I will now ask our Chief Executive, Laurent Lafarge, to address you.
Ian Buddery
Executive Chairman
Numis Securities Limited Tel: +44(0)20 7260 1000
Nominated Advisor Brent Nabbs
Corporate Broking David Poutney
About eServGlobal
eServGlobal (LSE: ESG & ASX: ESV) invents smart communication and payment solutions for telecommunications service providers operating on all generation networks.
eServGlobal's innovative solutions help service providers to grow new revenues, reduce churn, and lower costs. In addition, service providers are assured of seamless evolution to new network architectures, such as IMS and beyond.
As payment is crucial, eServGlobal's Charging Suite responds to increasingly sophisticated charging and billing challenges while providing advanced recharge and m-payment solutions. The innovative Retention Suite delivers targeted incentives to increase customer satisfaction and retention. Meeting customer demand for new communication experiences, the eServGlobal Messaging Suite enables reliable delivery of multimedia services such as unified messaging, video blog, SMS, and instant messaging. The Network Suite supplies enhanced personalisation and network optimisation.
Over 80 of the world's leading service providers, with over 400 million mobile subscribers in more than 50 countries, are taking advantage of eServGlobal's end-to-end solutions and expertise to quickly deliver revenue-generating services. With 14 offices around the world and staff from 20 different countries, we provide flexible solutions with ongoing product development, based on a deep understanding of our customers' challenges.
More information can be found at: http://www.eservglobal.com
Cautionary statements
Statements in this document expressing the beliefs and expectations of management regarding future performance are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's expectations as of the date of this document and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, uncertainty in communications spending, the implementation of the Company's strategic repositioning and market acceptance of the Company's new solutions strategy, six-monthly fluctuations in financial results, the Company's ability to exploit fully the value of its technology and its strategic partnerships and alliances, the availability of products from product component vendors and other risks. In addition, while management may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, management specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, even if its estimates change. Any reference to our website in this press release is not intended to incorporate the contents thereof into this press release or any other public announcement.
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