Pinned straw:
@NewbieHK I agree that Novatti has alot going on which has potentially been providing a bit of a distraction from growing the key areas of the business. Peter did have a tendency to talk things up, outside of the banking licence, I don't think there were too many broken promises on time, however I think he may have been able to communicate timelines on business development a bit better to manage expectations. The biggest example of this for me is the the transition of their clients to their own acquiring licence, which will deliver improved margins. This was first announced at the end of 2021, however in the Q3 update presentation Peter said they have now commenced moving customers to the Novatti platform.
At the end of Q3 it looked like some of these pieces were starting to finally come together with the GTV in the new business areas like issuing and acquiring continuing to grow at a solid pace. As you indicated large transaction volumes are required for these businesses to work.
I was looking to add to my position IRL to try and catch the falling knife, but this announcement will keep me on the sidelines for a bit longer. The abruptness of the announcement is the key concern here, and there could be many factors at play. It could be the Q4 results are looking less than stellar and the board decided it was time for a change in direction, it could be personal reasons for Peter, maybe its another communication issue and there has been a succession plan in place for some time. For me the thesis isn't quite busted, but its now its final life.