Net1 UEPS, the holding company for Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), has increased its South African revenue by 7% to $64,1-million for the second quarter of 2018.
It attributes this revenue increase primarily to higher EPE transaction revenue as a result of increased usage of its ATMs, increased inter-segment transaction processing activities and a modest increase in the number of social welfare grants distributed.
Operating income and margin in the country decreased, primarily due to an increase in inter-segment charges, the impact of annual salary increases granted to South African employees in October 2017 and increases in goods and services purchased from third parties.
The operating income margin for Q2 2018 and 2017 was 21% and 26%, respectively.
Overall, the group reported Q2 2018 revenue of $148-million, 2% lower in US dollars than the comparable period last year.
“There have been a number of exciting developments at Net1 over the past few months. The establishment of a blockchain department at Bank Frick accelerates our ability to reposition our core UEPS solution at the forefront of offline and biometric blockchain technology,” Herman Kotzé, CEO of Net1.
“Meanwhile our financial inclusion initiatives in South Africa are starting to bear fruit with an acceleration of our EPE offering, continuing realization of certain synergies with Cell C and DNI, and the beta development of our new mobile banking product.
“We achieved all this despite considerable time and effort spent on restructuring of the group, closure of certain business lines, and addressing some of the challenges in South Africa.”