Mobile banking firm Monitise will be hoping for a quick change in fortunes over 2015 after details of its financial plight were shared.
Valued at £1.38 billion last year, the company has reportedly seen its estimated worth shrink down to £326 million as a result of heavy losses in 2014 and falling share prices.
Stock in the company was valued at 14.75p today despite remaining over the 30p mark until December of last year. Signs suggest this downward spiral is unlikely to halt any time soon, with Telegraph reporter John Ficenec continuing to urge investors to sell their shares.
Costly operation
Monitise earned a reputation as the poster child of the UK tech startup scene after businesses developed an interest in its mobile payment solutions. The company was founded by Alastair Lukies and Steven Atkinson and lists Visa Europe, Visa Inc. and Santander as major shareholders.
Revenue at the group is still healthy but turning this into profit has represented something of a struggle.
The firm’s overall take from 2014 was £95.1 million, but this failed to prevent a £59 million loss in the year ending last June. PerformanceIN reported last year that Monitise had purchased Markco Media, the owner of MyVoucherCodes among other assets, for £55 million.
For the year ending June 2015, Monitise expects to report a loss in the region of £40 million.
Market remains strong
Despite recent events, Monitise remains in a good position to benefit from growth in the demand for mobile payment solutions. The company processed $71 billion worth of transactions in the first half of 2014, partly through an app which is used by HSBC, RBS and a current shareholder in Visa Europe.
It was the app that started things off for Monitise, which was founded in 2003 by Lukies and Atkinson. The company now has over 750 employees across offices in London, California, Hong Kong and Turkey.
Reports suggest the company is currently on the lookout for a buyer and is committed to recording profit in 2016.