Johannesburg — JSE debutante Net1 UEPS Technologies has issued a convoluted set of first-quarter results showing its income in both dollars and rands, to help investors understand its trading position despite the effect of yo-yoing currencies.

The Nasdaq-listed company said the dollar was stronger against the rand for the three months to September than it was for the prior period.

Net1 develops and operates electronic payment technologies to deliver grants and wage payments, and for consumers to pay their bills through systems such as EasyPay.

Highlights of the period were acquiring 80,1% of BGS Smartcard Systems in Austria, launching its fleet management system with Wesbank in SA, launching a system in Iraq to distribute grants, and beginning to register grant recipients in Botswana.

CEO Serge Belamant said he was very pleased with its activities during the first quarter and the figures demonstrated its success despite disruptions in the financial markets and concerns about a weakening global economy.

Revenue for the quarter came in at R530m, up 24% from R429m a year ago, while net income rose a more generous 60% -- from R127m to R204m. Basic earnings per share of 357c were up 59% from 224c.

The company sees its payment systems as ideal for the unbanked populations in developing economies, giving it a target market of 4-billion people. One of its developments is a system that uses secure smart cards that operate offline, so users can transact at any time, even in remote areas, as long as a portable card reader is available. Its South African subsidiary, Prism, develops secure online transaction technologies for e-commerce.

Last month, Net 1 was told that a tender from the South African Social Security Agency had been scrapped due to a number of defects in the request for proposals and in the bid evaluation process. Net1 already holds a contract with the agency, which expires in March but may now be extended until a new tender is issued.

The company has large aspirations and aims to globalise its technologies by entering new markets with new opportunities. It will use partnerships as well as acquisitions to achieve that. One particular target market is Russia, which it will tackle through its newly acquired BGS division.

However, it warned that its sales cycles were unpredictable and often stretched out for years, making it difficult to provide clear short-term guidance on its international prospects.

Net1 went for a secondary listing on the JSE to enhance South African investors' awareness of the company, which was originally founded in SA.