Company says it still ended 2020 with 'positive momentum'

Dubai-based payments processor Network International reported total revenues of $284 million for 2020, a 15 percent decrease from the previous year.

Its total revenues for the fourth quarter also posted a 19 percent decline compared with the same period in 2019.

Despite the fall in full-year revenues, the London Stock Exchange-listed company said it managed to end 2020 with a “positive momentum”.

“We continued to see encouraging market trends throughout the final quarter and are pleased to report that we exited the year with positive momentum across all of our business lines,” said Simon Haslam, chief executive officer of Network International.

The company also noted that revenues in the fourth quarter were “sequentially higher than the third quarter across both business lines, reflecting the ongoing recovery in digital transactions” across its markets.

Other segments

As for its “merchant solutions”, the company reported a 31 percent year-over-year drop in the fourth quarter, within which directly acquired total processed volumes (TPV) declined 18 percent.

In the core UAE market, domestic direct acquiring TPV fully recovered to 2019 levels, supported by strong e-commerce spending, while international volumes also benefitted from a pick-up in tourism over the holiday period, the report said.

All merchant segments, excluding supermarkets, showed improved TPV growth when compared to the height of lockdowns in April and May, particularly travel and entertainment, the statement said.

For the same quarter, the company’s “issuer solutions” revenues fell 13 percent.

Network International was targeted by hedge funds and short-sellers in September last year, leading to stock sell-offs and price declines of over 50 percent.

Last week, the payments company appointed Mastercard’s current strategy head, Nandan Mer, to assume the chief executive officer role next month.

zawya