Neovia 2009 year-end results: EBITDA halves

NEOVIA Financial’s earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) halved in 2009, the payment processing business’ year-on-year figures reveal, while the company saw a 15% fall in revenue.

EBITDA slid to $8m, down from $16m the previous year, with group total revenue totalling $64.5m (€46.9m, £42m), down from $75.9m in 2008. After a tough year, the company’s figures were nevertheless slightly ahead of City forecasts, thanks, in part, to a fourth quarter recovery. The results, however, correlate with a number of Neovia’s egaming clients, which include Ladbrokes and PartyGaming.

Neovia’s vice president of corporate development and communications, Andrew Gilchrist, said: “It’s been a difficult year for a lot of gaming merchants. People thought egaming would ride out the recession, but we’ve suffered as a consequence in terms of our financial results. However, the results belie a much healthier position for the business.”

The year was characterised by the resolution of internal issues including a change of chief executive, with ex-NatWest chief operating officer and Morgan Stanley executive Mark Mayhew replacing Ron Martin in September. Neovia also focused on the completion of its Newteller platform, a desktop micropayments application enabling users to receive content from a number of merchants.

A deal to provide payment processing services to new UK-based TV-on-demand service SeeSaw.com is an example of that, with users potentially able to go from watching a TV show to using an egaming client’s offering using the same wallet.

Gilchrist also highlighted the number of sign-ups to its e-wallet service, a more diversified offering in the egaming market that included deals with SBObet and Jaxx, and improved revenues from bingo, lotteries and skill-based games via the likes of Beatya. “We also carried on winning landmark clients for egaming with Sky Betting and Sega,” he added.