Dubai: Network International, the UAE’s home-grown international payments firm, reported a 30 per cent surge in fourth quarter revenue, driven by higher spending.
“The UAE market has seen a significant rebound in consumer spending and international tourism, and it is encouraging to see our merchant business going from strength-to-strength,” said the company in a statement. “This has been supported by record levels of merchant signups, reflecting our continued efforts to enhance our sales strategies, improve merchant on-boarding and continually bring new services to customers.”
The revenue growth was primarily driven by “robust” performance of the company’s merchant solutions business, where revenue grew 58 per cent in the reported quarter, compared to the same period last year.
“There is much to feel positive about, having ended the year strongly. We have made excellent progress on successfully refocusing our strategy to drive accelerated growth and innovation,” said Nandan Mer, CEO of Network International, in a statement.
“Our market entry to Saudi Arabia is on track and we have signed a new processing customer that is expected to become a key contributor to long-term revenues,” said Mer.
Within the new merchant additions, notable wins include several hotels such as Double Tree Hilton, Yas Residences and Courtyard by Marriot Al Jaddaf. The company’s data solutions business signed an expanded and extended contract with a major UAE tourist authority, as well as a new agreement with a significant UAE government authority.
DPO buyout
The acquisition of DPO Group continued to deliver with total processed volume in the quarter increasing 40 per cent year-on-year and revenue growing 29 per cent over the same period.
Last year, Network acquired DPO, an online payments platform in Africa, for $291.3 million. The company also unveiled a new strategic vision and outlined its ambition to be the fastest-growing payments company in the Middle East and Africa.
