Planet Payment, Inc. : Planet Payment Announces Third Quarter 2013 Results

LONG BEACH, N.Y., November 12, 2013 -- Planet Payment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLPM) (LSE:AIM:PPT), a leading provider of international payment and transaction processing and multi-currency processing services, announced today its  results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2013.

Financial Highlights for the Quarter Ended September 30, 2013

• Net revenue for the period increased approximately 6% to $10.5 million compared to $9.9 million in the third quarter of 2012.
• Consolidated gross billings was $26.6 million compared to $26.3 million in the third quarter of 2012. (See Table 3 for explanation of this metric).
• Gross foreign currency mark-up was $22.7 million compared to $22.9 million in the third quarter of 2012. (See Table 3 for explanation of this metric).
• Processing services revenue increased 16% to $3.9 million compared to $3.4 million in the third quarter of 2012.

• Net loss for the period was $0.8 million compared to a net loss of $4.0 million in the third quarter of 2012. Included in the third quarter of 2012 were $2.6 million of IPO costs which were expensed.

• Adjusted EBITDA for the period was $0.2 million compared to a loss of $0.4 million in the third quarter of 2012. (See Table 1 for reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBITDA).

Operational Highlights for the Quarter Ended September 30, 2013

• Total active merchant locations increased by 22% to approximately 46,000 (See Table 3 for explanation of this metric).
• Total settled dollar volume processed increased 13% to $1.7 billion and total settled transactions processed increased 28% to 15.2 million. (See Table 3 for explanation of these metrics).
• Launched Visa's service for Grupo Bimbo and Blue Label Telecom in Mexico targeting 150,000 merchant locations for processing of payment card and non-financial transactions on the same terminal.
• Launched Pay In Your Currency service with Banorte in Mexico.
• Signed direct acquiring agreements with Discover and UnionPay International and became a member of UnionPay International.
• Agreed to launch Shop In Your Currency multicurrency e-commerce services with Cardworks Acquiring and ProPay.

"Our results this Quarter reflect the trends that we highlighted earlier in the year," said Philip Beck, Chairman and CEO of Planet Payment.  "We are seeing positive secular trends including the shift from cash to electronic payments - particularly in emerging markets which remain a strategic focus of the Company.  In particular, we are pleased that Visa has broadened our previously announced strategic relationship for emerging markets to assist them in expanding electronic payments in Mexico.  Our processing services are enabling merchants to accept financial and non-financial transactions such as pre-paid airtime for mobile phones from a single device.   Additionally, new customers and initiatives in the United States, Mexico and Indonesia should result in further adoption of our Pay in Your Currency and Shop in Your Currency solutions and drive increased multi-currency processing volumes.  These efforts, and other initiatives, including Brazil, represent a solid pipeline of new merchant and ATM locations offering our services which positions Planet Payment for growth in 2014."    

Outlook for Fiscal Year 2013

The Company continues to expect the following for fiscal year 2013:

• Net revenue estimated to be in the range of $48.0 million to $50.0 million.
• Net income estimated to be in the range of $1.0 million to $2.9 million.
• Adjusted EBITDA estimated to be in the range of $5.4 million to $7.4 million. (See Table 2 for reconciliation of prospective net income to Adjusted EBITDA).
• Fully diluted earnings per share estimated to be in the range of $0.02 to $0.05 based upon 56.0 million fully diluted common shares outstanding.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call to discuss third quarter 2013 financial results today at 5:00 pm New York time.  Philip Beck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Robert Cox, Chief Financial Officer will host the call.  The call will be webcast live from the Company's investor relations website at http://ir.planetpayment.com/.  The conference call can also be accessed live over the phone by dialing (877) 705-6003, or for international callers (201) 493-6725.  A replay will be available approximately two hours after the call concludes and can be accessed on our website or by dialing (877) 870-5176, or for international callers (858) 384-5517, and entering the conference ID 10000267.  The replay will be available until our next earnings call on our website or via telephone until Tuesday, November 19, 2013. 

Additional analysis of the Company's performance can be found in the "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," included in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to be filed at www.sec.gov and posted on the Comp          any's investor relations website.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.

Information contained in this announcement may include 'forward-looking statements'. All statements other than statements of historical facts included herein, including, without limitation, those set forth in "Outlook for Fiscal Year 2013" and those regarding the financial position, business strategy, plans, trends, and objectives of management for future operations of both Planet Payment and its business partners, financial growth, estimated net revenue, net income, Adjusted EBITDA, diluted earnings per share, estimated fully diluted common shares outstanding, future service launches with customers in existing and new markets and new initiatives and customer pipeline are forward-looking statements.  Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions regarding Planet Payment's present and future business strategies, and the environment in which Planet Payment expects to operate in future, which assumptions may or may not be fulfilled in practice. Implementation of some or all of the new services referred to is subject to regulatory or other third party approvals.  Actual results may vary materially from the results anticipated by these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of risk factors, including the risk that implementation, adoption and offering of the service by processors, acquirers, merchants and others may take longer than anticipated, or may not occur at all, regulatory changes and changes in card association regulations and practices, changes in domestic and international economic conditions and changes in volume of international travel and commerce and others. Additional risks may arise, with respect to commencing operations in new countries and regions, of which Planet Payment is not fully aware at this time. See the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed at www.sec.gov for other risk factors which investors should consider.  These forward-looking statements speak only as to the date of this announcement and cannot be relied upon as a guide to future performance. Planet Payment expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement to reflect any changes in its expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.

Click here for the complete release. 

About Planet Payment

Planet Payment is a leading provider of international payment and transaction processing and multi-currency processing services. We provide our services in 22 countries and territories across the Asia Pacific region, North America, the Middle East, Africa and Europe, primarily through our more than 60 acquiring bank and processor customers. Our point-of-sale and e-commerce services help merchants sell more goods and services to consumers, and together with our ATM services are integrated within the payment card transaction flow enabling our acquiring customers, their merchants and consumers to shop, pay, transact and reconcile payment transactions in multiple currencies, geographies and channels.

Planet Payment is headquartered in New York and has offices in Atlanta, Beijing, Bermuda, Delaware, Dubai, Dublin, London, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Shanghai and Singapore. Visit www.planetpayment.com for more information about the Company and its services. For up-to-date information follow Planet Payment on Twitter at @PlanetPayment or join Planet Payment's Facebook page.

Contacts:

Canaccord Genuity Ltd (Nomad for Planet Payment)

Simon Bridges / Andrew Chubb                                                 Tel: +44 20 7523 8000