Mobile banking technology firm Monitise is to take advantage of demand for its shares from existing shareholders and raise money through a share placing.
The firm intends to raise £24m through the issue of 81m shares to "certain existing strategic investors", with the proceeds being used to maintain a strong balance sheet and provide head-room for other investment opportunities.
Other major shareholders may also be given the opportunity to subcribe for new shares, which could result in the strategic investors who have already committed to stumping up money for new shares having their participation in the share placing scaled back.
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The company had £20m gross cash and £10m of debt at the end of June and has repaid around half of this debt since then.
Monitise also said it is bringing forward its EBITDA (earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation) break-even guidance by a quarter to September 2013.
Revenue in the year to June 30th grew by 139% from £14m the year before to £34m and the EBITDA loss held stedy at £12m.
The order book as at June 30th was more than £110m of committed orders, plus a further £160m of additional revenue with a high degree of visibility from existing contracts over the next five years, totalling £270m.
The increased demand from existing customers and the pipeline of new customer wins provide the firm with further confidence of future growth in the order book.
The company also said that a number of global technology companies have expressed an interest in partnering and reselling its technology.
Chairman Duncan McIntyre said: "In June 2012 we completed our acquisition of Clairmail and then also launched four major customer releases which help to underpin our future growth and market leading position. The integration of Clairmail is progressing well and is further accelerating our strong growth in the US market.
"We are in a unique position in this exciting industry and ensuring that we have a suitable capital base is vital if we are to deliver on the substantial potential of the business. We are delighted that our major partners are fully supportive of our strategy."
The share price fell 1.74% to 28.25p by 13:46.
NR
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