Zhanginu, thanks for the GM summary. I wasn't there (different city) and the GM audio presentation isn't up until this morning. From the announcement, presentation, chair speech, I got a very positive sense of future growth, but also mindful that aspirations are not results. Still, here are some things I noticed/interpreted:
1. OFX recognizes that it needs MUCH more global market presence (branding, marketing, etc). It is currently VERY OZ currency dependent (see slide 15). Branding/marketing is absolutely critical for successful US entry because OFX is unknown, the US market is heavily brand oriented in consumer decisions, and foreign transaction services are fairly nascent in that market (see OFX commentary earlier this year on this point). Marketing is also needed to battle growing competition elsewhere (possibly UK -- see naked ads there).
2. OFX discovered that an important segment will be in everyday (I call them "real-time") foreign transactions, which are smartphone wallets or at least smartphone managed prepaid cards with better priced and smoother transactions than credit/debit cards for purchases and ATM withdrawals. OFX's successful (award winning) prepaid travel card probably was a catalyst, but just a beginning. This relates to OFX's strategic shift from "product" (its older formal, larger, one-off forex transactions) to real-time global transactions of any size. OFX has a huge potential market in these small transactions (ask anyone who travels!) Not everyone has a 28-Degrees credit card to save forex costs, and even 28-degrees has limitations (ATM withdrawals, no way to quickly manage account when overseas).
3. The "OFX" name unifies the company, which is critical for global activities and marketing efficiencies than multiple brands (OZForex, CdnForex, UKForex, etc.). One global name is also valuable for business clients with multi-national activities and literally anyone using OFX services on vacation (see point #2 above).
4. OFX recognizes that it is "a fintech company" and therefore can provide its electronic transaction platform and related technologies to other parties in non-competitive services. Bell Potter has taken a similar route by providing its trading platform technology to others.
Finally, OFX can grow earnings faster than revenue (even with higher mid-term marketing costs) because the technology allows considerable service expansion with minimal increase in variable costs. IFM is another ASX firm with similar advantages (we don't have enough of these on the ASX!).
Now, let's see if and how the market reacts to the GM.
