VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- Datawest Solutions (TSE: DS - news), a provider of banking and payment technology solutions, reported that revenues for the first fiscal quarter ended March 31 totaled $11.3 million, similar to fourth quarter 2001 and a 22 percent increase over the same period last year.
Net loss for the quarter of $1.1 million was comparable to first quarter 2001 and the fourth quarter of last year.
The revenue growth for first quarter 2002 compared to first quarter 2001 was bolstered by the inclusion of TCS (Canada) Limited ("TCS") to the Payment Solutions Group which expanded capacity and product offerings, according to a news release. However, total revenues also included TCS' associated service and operations expenses of TCS.
Banking Solutions Group revenues, including data processing, professional services and product and license sales, were $7 million for the quarter, a $300,000 increase over fourth quarter 2001 and a $800,000 decrease over first quarter 2001.
Payment Solutions Group revenues, including transaction processing, professional services and product and license sales, were $4 million for the quarter, a $3 million increase over first quarter 2001. Payment revenues declined by $400,000 over fourth quarter 2001.
According to a news release, Payment Solutions Group continued to increase the number of ATM and POS devices on the company's network. However, seasonal volume changes, competitive pricing pressure and third-party POS hardware problems contributed to lower transaction processing revenues this quarter over fourth quarter 2001.
The company expects transaction processing revenues to improve now that hardware problems have been resolved and more POS devices are added to the network, according to the release.
Product and license sales lagged in the first quarter 2002 compared to fourth quarter 2001. Included were revenues from low margin ATM sales, which the company has now discontinued. However, revenues for first quarter 2002 included annual ATM maintenance contract fees of $500,000.
The Interac certification project was delayed but will reduce costs and contribute to improving ongoing operating efficiency in the second quarter and beyond, according to the release.
