Paysafe Posts Strong Results in H1 2017 as Payments Sector Grows

It is a busy time for Paysafe, the UK-based Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times. One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times. Read this Term service provider, as it announced its unaudited interim results for H1 2017 for the period ending June 30, close on the heels of news of a bid for its acquisition by the Blackstone Group.

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Its total revenue jumped 11% year on year, coming in at $538.7 million as against $486.7 million in H1 2016. Though this shows robust growth, it should be noted that this is much less than the extraordinary 118% growth that Paysafe achieved last year.

The Adjusted Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) came in at $169.2 million, which indicates an EBITDA margin of 31.4%. This compares favourably to the 29.6% achieved during the same period last year. This improvement came about due to improved gross margins in its payment processing and digital wallets divisions, two of the fastest growing sectors throughout the payment industry.

Statutory operating profit for H1 2017 came in at $99.6 million, an 11% increase against $89.7 million in H1 2016.

Other Highlights of Half Year

Other highlights for the first half of 2017 included the Acquisition Acquisition Acquisition means acquiring or taking possession or the securing of property, services, or abilities. To put it simply, it is the act or process of acquiring or gaining. You can acquire a work of art, you can acquire an ability such as speaking another language, you can acquire a business or shares in a company and you can acquire an accountant's service. For example, you can acquire a new car. In a broad sense, Acquisition can mean the act of taking ownership or possession of something. There are many ways to acquire or to take the acquisition of property and services. How Companies Utilize AcquisitionsIn finance, the term acquisition is most often used when referring to taking control of a company. An acquisition can be either an agreed deal or a hostile takeover. Companies also may acquire units of a company, property, or other assets. An acquisition is when one business, person, or company purchases most if not of another company's shares to gain control of that company. Buying more than 50% of a target firm's stock and other assets allows the acquirer to make decisions about the newly acquired assets without the approval of the company's shareholders. In finance, there are several types of acquisitions that one speaks of when referring to Acquisitions and Mergers. A horizontal acquisition is when two companies come together with similar products/services. Conversely, a vertical acquisition means two companies join forces in the same industry, but they are at different points on the supply chain.Moreover, a conglomerate represents two companies in different industries join forces, or one takes over the other to broaden their range of services and products. Finally, a concentric acquisition occurs when companies will share customers but provide different services. Acquisition means acquiring or taking possession or the securing of property, services, or abilities. To put it simply, it is the act or process of acquiring or gaining. You can acquire a work of art, you can acquire an ability such as speaking another language, you can acquire a business or shares in a company and you can acquire an accountant's service. For example, you can acquire a new car. In a broad sense, Acquisition can mean the act of taking ownership or possession of something. There are many ways to acquire or to take the acquisition of property and services. How Companies Utilize AcquisitionsIn finance, the term acquisition is most often used when referring to taking control of a company. An acquisition can be either an agreed deal or a hostile takeover. Companies also may acquire units of a company, property, or other assets. An acquisition is when one business, person, or company purchases most if not of another company's shares to gain control of that company. Buying more than 50% of a target firm's stock and other assets allows the acquirer to make decisions about the newly acquired assets without the approval of the company's shareholders. In finance, there are several types of acquisitions that one speaks of when referring to Acquisitions and Mergers. A horizontal acquisition is when two companies come together with similar products/services. Conversely, a vertical acquisition means two companies join forces in the same industry, but they are at different points on the supply chain.Moreover, a conglomerate represents two companies in different industries join forces, or one takes over the other to broaden their range of services and products. Finally, a concentric acquisition occurs when companies will share customers but provide different services. Read this Term of Merchants' Choice Payment Solutions (MCPS) for $470 million, of which $380 million was financed by debt. So, considering this acquisition, the revenue of Paysafe group would have increased by $167 million and adjusted EBITDA would have increased by $25 million.

Paysafe also increased its headcount by 9% to 2,299 from 2,116 in December 2016, which reflected the increased need for platform development and maintenance and compliance operations. The company also migrated its tax governance from the Isle of Man to the UK.

Paysafe Chairman Dennis Jones said: “After exceptional trading in 2016, Paysafe Group has returned to a more sustainable level of low-double-digit revenue growth in the first half of 2017. This reflects our increasingly diversified set of businesses as the management team continues to build a stable and robust global payments platform. To that end, we were pleased to announce the acquisition of US-based MCPS in July, which strengthens our processing business, increases Paysafe Group’s scale in North American acquiring and helps us to continue re-balancing our portfolio away from online gambling.”

Due to the offer given by Blackstone Group for the acquisition of Paysafe, the company has been restricted from giving its forward guidance for 2017. Overall, the numbers reflect strong and robust growth in the company, which is no surprise considering the fact that it is a leader in one of the fastest growing sectors in the financial world.