Irish e-payment technology player Trintech revealed this morning that it has applied to delist from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and instead focus on the more lucrative Nasdaq Stock Exchange.
Trintech dual listed on the Nasdaq and NeurMarkt in September 1999, raising some US$70m in capital. At the time the dotcom boom was raging and the NeurMarkt was in vogue as a stock marketed tailored to the needs of ambitious technology companies. However, since the technology downturn of 2001, the NeurMarkt is understood to have garnered controversy due to low rates of return for investors.
In a statement, Trintech said that it expects its revocation from the Frankfurt-based exchange to come into force by May.
The company has re-affirmed its commitment to maintain its listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange and concentrate trading its stock on one market to reduce the complexity of reporting requirements and the costs of maintaining a dual listing.
According to a source close to the company Trintech wants to concentrate on Nasdaq because “it is the most liquid stock market in the world”.
The source continued: “This is good financial housekeeping from an investor’s point of view. Nasdaq offers the most liquidity and is the largest capital market in the world.”
The source said that the move is part of overall cost-cutting measures at the Irish technology company and is governed by the same ethos that saw Trintech move its US headquarters from Silicon Valley to Dallas. “It is down to commercial realities. Dallas is the hub for finance and banking in the US – Trintech’s core markets – not Silicon Valley.”
Since the technology downturn in 2001, Trintech has struggled to trim costs and in the past year has stabilised to the extent that it has been profitable for the past four quarters and has started to recruit people again.
In its third quarter results at the end of November, the company reported that revenues increased 44pc to US$40.7m and a profit of US$434k.
By John Kennedy
