* Chief Executive Elizabeth Buse quits for personal reasons
* FY core loss 41.8 mln stg vs company expectation of 40-50mln
* Says doesn't expect revenue to grow in current year
* Shares down 41 percent, hit six-year low (Adds analyst comments, link to breakingviews, details andupdates share movement)
By Esha Vaish
Sept 9 (Reuters) - Monitise Plc Chief ExecutiveElizabeth Buse has quit after just over a year in the post, themobile banking software maker said on Wednesday, as it posted anincreased yearly loss and forecast flat revenue in the currentyear.
Its shares plummeted more than 40 percent to a six-year lowas Buse's departure once again called into question Monitise'sgrowth prospects and its relations with a key customer.
Monitise, trying to revive its fortunes after multiplerevenue warnings and an abortive attempt to sell itself, hadhired Buse from Visa Inc last June with the objective ofhelping inspire a sevenfold increase in customer numbers.
Her departure, attributed to a desire to return to theUnited States for personal reasons, comes less than six monthsafter founder and co-CEO Alastair Lukies said he would stepdown.
"She came with huge credibility from Visa Inc ... so thefact that she's departing ... will definitely be seen as a signof caution by potential customers," analyst Milan Radia ofJefferies said.
Founded in 2003, Monitise blazed a trail by linking banksand mobile operators to build a business capable of handlingmore than $70 billion a year in mobile payments, purchases andmoney transfers.
However, it has issued a string on warnings on the back of achange last year in its business model, to subscriptions fromone based on more attractive licensing deals.
The company has come up against tough competition from freemobile payment systems offered by the likes of Google Inc and Apple Inc.
SUDDEN CHANGE
And Visa Europe said in July it would reduce its 5.3 percentstake - echoing a previous statement by its parent regarding its5.5 percent holding - which analysts attributed to a strainingof relations after Monitise tied up with rival MasterCard Inc.
Visa's sudden change in relationship with Monitise, from oneof support illustrated by Buse's appointment, indicates a"degree of anger", Radia said.
Canaccord Genuity analysts said the loss of Buse and thelowered expectations reduced their confidence in Monitise'sturnaround and growth prospects.
The brokerage also pointed to limited evidence of demand forthe company's new "cloud" based product, which has brought onboard only one customer since its April launch.
After Buse's departure at the end of October, Monitise willbe left with three former Visa executives in its leadershipteam, including Chairman Peter Ayliffe.
Deputy CEO Lee Cameron, who has been with the company since 2008, will step in as chief executive.
Monitise also reported a core loss of 41.8 million pounds inthe year to June 30, up from 31.4 million a year earlier andcompared with its expectation of 40-50 million.
It said it was not expecting revenue to grow in the currentfinancial year, but expects to report a core profit.
The shares, down 41 percent at 3.43 pence by 1139 GMT, havelost more than 90 percent of their value since touching a highin early January 2014. The stock was the top volume mover on theLondon Stock Exchange. ($1 = 0.6509 pounds) (Additional reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain; Editing byAnupama Dwivedi and David Holmes)
