GlobalData Regulatory News (DATA)

10 Jan 2008 07:00

Datacash Group PLC10 January 2008 10 January 2008 DataCash Group Plc: DATA / Index: AIM / Sector: Support Services DataCash Group Plc ('the Company') Pre-Close Statement The Board of DataCash Group plc is pleased to announce 2007 has been anothersuccessful year for the Group. Our e-commerce transactions have continued togrow strongly for existing UK and international customers. Our reputation fordependable service and product breadth has also attracted some sizeable newcustomers. Recently signed contracts include TUI Travel plc (3 years for bothCardholder Present and Cardholder Not Present transactions) and an e-commercedivision of Tesco. The recently acquired EuroCommerce business, which we bought to strengthen ourposition in the airline and travel sectors, has, as expected and announced atthe time of the acquisition, lost money in the period of ownership. However, theindustry response to the acquisition has been very positive (it has recentlysigned a contract with GermanWings) and we expect this business to showprofitability in 2009. The results of the DataCash business, before the EuroCommerce losses, areexpected to be in line with market expectations We have invested heavily in our technology infrastructure during 2007,especially towards the year end, and consequently our operating expenses willrise significantly in 2008. We believe the investment will rapidly bear fruit asmore of our customers gain access to the wide range of payment types, riskmanagement services and banking relationships the Group has established. We havepositioned ourselves to take advantage of the growing willingness of retailersto outsource their total payment processing needs. The investments we have made,and will continue to make, provide another step change in both our capacity andour capabilities. We believe this provides a significant differentiator betweenus and our competitors. The Group's results are expected to be announced in April, and we look forwardto providing a further update on progress at that time. - END - For further information please contact: DataCash Group PLC Paul Burton Tel: +44 (0)870 72 74 76 0Finance Director E-mail: Paul.burton@datacash.com Website: www.datacash.com About DataCash DataCash Group PLC (AIM: DATA), a market leading provider of payment processingsolutions, provides merchants with a single interface that allows them toprocess secure payments, both on and offline, anywhere in the world. DataCash also provides a range of value added services with its fraud and RiskManagement solutions supporting AVS/CV2, 3-D Secure (Verified by Visa andMasterCard Secure Code) together with traditional rules-based screening. DataCash provides first-class service reliability at a fraction of the price ofan in-house solution, servicing clients within the retail, travel,telecommunications and gaming sectors. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange