Cash-bleeding Monitise waves goodbye to chief exec

Struggling British software banking biz Monitise has waved goodbye to its chief exec after more than trebling losses for the full year 2015, compared with more modest profit leakage last year.

The firm reported revenue of just under £90m for the period, down six per cent on the previous period. Losses ballooned year-on-year to £223m from £59m for the full year 2014.

Chief exec Elizabeth Buse is to step down from her role as of today, apparently "due to her desire for personal reasons to return to the United States", said the company in a trading statement. Deputy chief exec Lee Cameron will take the helm as head honcho as of today.

Buse said that given the company's "healthy cash balance and the tough decisions we continue to take, I am confident that Monitise is now better positioned for profitability and future growth."

The firm is not predicting revenue growth for the full year 2016 and did not comment on its profits before tax forecast.

In July, Monitise lost Visa Europe as a major shareholder.

Philip Carse, analyst at Megabuyte, said: "These results cap off a bad year for Monitise, during which the company had to revise down guidance, lost Visa Inc as a major customer and failed to find a buyer at a decent price following a strategic review."

But he added the worst may be over for the company.

During its full year 2015, Monitise said it had "deepened" its partnerships with Santander, Telefónica and MasterCard, with the three companies investing in the business. The group's multi-faceted relationship with IBM also developed further during the year. ®