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(Alliance News) - Boku Inc on Wednesday said it expects a profit rise for the first half of 2022, boosted by the disposal of its Identity division.
Shares were up 7.0% at 94.70 pence each on Wednesday morning in London.
For six months ended June 30, the San Francisco-based mobile payments company said it expects pretax profit to jump significantly to USD29.5 million from just USD1.9 million a year before, including the profit on the disposal of Boku's Identity division of USD24.0 million, net of disposal costs, in February. The group said it is now debt free.
However, payments revenue is expected at USD30.3 million, marginally down from USD30.7 million a year ago. Payments adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation is expected at USD9.5 million, down 17% from USD11.1 million.
Monthly active users of the Boku platform increased to 46.3 million in June, up 22% compared to 37.9 million a year earlier.
"The group saw further growth in volume processed through its mobile-first payments network of Direct Carrier Billing, Bundling, eWallets and Real Time Payments in the first half of 2022," Boku noted. Total volumes are expected to up by 14% year-on-year.
Cash as at June 30 stood at USD67.8 million, up from USD38.0 million a year before.
Boku said it has continued to expand its regulated payment capabilities to cover more than 50 markets. Its mobile-first payments network also expanded to over 7 billion end user accounts.
Chief Executive Officer Jon Prideaux said: "Growth in our key metrics is strong. Underpinned by our leading position in Direct Carrier Billing, the number of monthly active users increased by 22%. I look forward to the future with confidence."
By Xindi Wei; xindiwei@alliancenews.com
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