AGM Statement

RNS Number : 4625M

Datacash Group PLC

25 May 2010

 



25 May 2010

DATACASH GROUP PLC:  DATA / Index: AIM/ Sector: Support Services

DataCash Group Plc ('DataCash' or 'the Group')

AGM Statement

At the DataCash Annual General Meeting to be held at noon today, 25^th May 2010, the Chairman, Mr Ashley Head, will make the following statement:

The Board of DataCash Group plc is pleased to announce that trading for the first four months of 2010 has exceeded our expectations, with notable new business wins, contract renewals and the introduction of numerous product and service enhancements across the Group.

New business has been secured across a range of vertical sectors.

In the Insurance industry, DataCash have been awarded a contract to provide payment processing services via internet and telephone channels for the esure group of companies, including brands esure Home and Motor Insurance and Sheilas' Wheels Motor and Home Insurance.

Elsewhere in the Financial Services Sector DataCash have been able to capitalise on the growth of the short term loans market, securing relationships with several companies.  Of particular significance is the direct crediting solution using Faster Payments.  Faster Payments is a recent UK banking industry initiative in which DataCash is participating, that allows merchants to make payouts to their consumers in real time or on a specified date and is a much more cost effective solution than the current CHAPs option.  This solution should create many more opportunities for merchants requiring a fast and cost effective payout mechanism.

In the gaming world, DataCash has seen a particularly strong start to 2010, with new customers including Telegraph Media and Butlers Bingo, and contract renewals for London Capital Group and Betclick.  We saw record volumes from the Cheltenham Festival of Racing, and the Grand National, the biggest day in the horse racing calendar and we look forward to enhanced transaction volumes from the World Cup football competition this summer.

In the not-for-profit sector DataCash have signed Charity Technology Trust (CTT) for card processing and fraud prevention services.  CTT focuses on the provision of a wide range of products and services used to increase charities' efficiency in many of their core areas of activity and will be offering the DataCash service to many of their expanding partner charity portfolio.

In Travel, new contracts have been agreed with Air Arabia and Teletext Holidays, while significant service enhancements for the existing customer base include a currency conversion solution for Tiger Airways, additional French payment options for Opodo and processing via additional sales channels for Qatar Airways.

Internationally, DataCash has made its first significant impression in the Australian marketplace, with two Woolworths Australia brands now live with payment processing and fraud prevention solutions via Asia Pacific Acquirer WestPac.  We have further enhanced our German presence, through Group subsidiary ExperCash, winning contracts with significant German brands including Bijou Brigitte, Ritter Sport and Faber Castell.  The International Youth Hostel Association have also engaged further with DataCash providing a Direct Bank Transfer solution for paying money in and out of their network of hostels across Europe.

From the Cardholder Present arm of the Group, RSM2000, the leading provider of payment solutions and financial management to the fuel forecourt industry, have agreed with DataCash to process card transactions from over 400 independent fuel sites. This includes not only credit and debit cards but also the processing of Fuel cards, a new service offered by DataCash.  In addition, Shoe Zone will be switching from processing card payments through an in-house solution to using the DataCash managed payment service for Cardholder Present transactions across its 800 UK stores. Shoe Zone have opted to take advantage of the Group's multi channel payment capabilities, adding to the DataCash presence already in place handling web transactions.

Opportunities to cross market to the DataCash payments customer base, alongside the introduction of new customers, has meant DataCash Fraud Prevention Services has recorded a strong start to 2010.  New fraud prevention contracts include Hotels4U, Long Tall Sally, Thane Direct, Low Cost Holidays, Merlin Entertainment Group, Flexiant, TTT MoneyCorp and EasyDate.

Securing contract renewals throughout the DataCash customer base is also critical to the Group's ongoing success and provides opportunities to market additional products and services. Some of the numerous significant contract renewals to date this year include Arcadia, Bauer Media and News International.

Our balance sheet remains strong with net cash at 30 April 2010 of £17.25 million and we are confident that 2010 will be another strong year for DataCash.

For further information please contact:

DataCash Group Plc

Paul Burton                                   T: [phone]

Finance Director                            E: [e-mail]

Carly Smith                                  T: [phone]

Marketing & Communications           E: [e-mail]

Website: www.datacash.com

About DataCash:  

DataCash Group Plc (AIM: DATA), a market leading provider of payment processing solutions, provides merchants with a single interface that allows them to process secure payments, both on and offline, anywhere in the world.

DataCash also provides a range of value added services with its fraud and Risk Management solutions supporting AVS/CV2, 3-D Secure (Verified by Visa and MasterCard Secure Code) together with traditional rules-based screening.

DataCash provides first-class service reliability at a fraction of the price of an in-house solution, servicing clients within the retail, travel, telecommunications and gaming sectors.

 

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