I do understand your concern. However, as a long term investor(since early 2015) , I have witnessed first hand how ISX has had to change according to various challenges. It is important to remember that ISX was just purchased in late 2014 and has been evolving ever since. Therefore, I have no issue with ISX's explanations to the ASX, because I read their announcements when they were made and in answering the ASX queries, they have been consistent with those announcements. You are reading them now in retrospect and are being influenced by a specific question from the ASX and, I must say, by a very obvious bias for guilt.
On
February 5, 2018, ISX explained in an announcement (Australian Payment processing & funds settlement update ISXPay) that " The Company will no longer announce merchants by name, but will report based on sector / actual results, in order to preserve merchant confidentiality and Company’s commercial positioning" .
It is important to remember that ISX in 2017/2018 was (and is even now) a "fledgling" company which, and rightly so, is learning, evolving and changing each year according to the obstacles and challenges they meet. And thank goodness for that! They started out announcing their revenue as "contracted revenue - i.e. contracted GPTV" and found that this was not adequate because ISX found that it did not represent the actual revenue earned, it only represented what the customer had projected they would earn. They also found that the analysts agreed with that view. So then they changed their announcements to actual GPTV. The same is true of announcing customers signed. Because the contracted revenue did not turn out to represent the actual business, likewise announcing the names of customers did not adequately represent the future business. And sadly, this may be forever evident since there is probably going to be a number of customers that are doing business in the FX, CFD, Equities, cryptocurrency markets that will be found to be corrupt or just fail and will stop transacting. (See thread Argument for why ISX SHOULD have corrupt customers)
In a further explanation, ISX stated four key reasons for not disclosing these customers to the market: see 18/11/2018 Response to ASX Query Letter
- Difficult to project the growth of a new customer
- Actual GPTV vs contracted GPTV
- ASX's apparent view of materiality - in which ISX explains that "It does not consider the one-off technical integration fees to be material." - because frankly, once they are integrated, it is not going to happen again. And this was, as you point out, much of the May/June income was about.
- Difference of opinion in the meaning of Guidance note 8, where ISX notes that it can see that the ASX interprets "GN8 to be unconditional in relation to the disclosure of customer names and confidential terms." and ISX stated " Rather, ISX understands GN8 to provide guidance which may not be applicable in every circumstance. In this respect, ISX relies on the various qualifying words in GN8, including “wherever possible”, “for example”, “depending on the circumstances” and “generally”. "
It is also important to remember that although ISX may be a "flegling" company, it does have good corporate lawyers and accounting specialists. They would be doing everything they can to not contravene laws.
So yes, it does look like 6 customers made most of the revenue for that point in time. But that does not change the fact that according to ISX's then and now current business philosophy/rules for announcing new business to the investors, they performed according to those rules. And to speculate that they did it because they were acting corruptly or that they are being evasive in their answers does not hold water.
It is difficult to understand events when looking back. It is also possible that you are the type of person that never makes a mistake, or is afraid of making a mistake or blames other people for your mistakes. But I assure you, making mistakes is good, because that is the only way that there is learning.
I embrace the mistakes I have made, both in business and in life. I make them on a daily basis. This is my most treasured quality and I respect it in others, and in businesses who learn to "roll with the punches" and continue to perform. ISX is one of those companies and I truly hope they are allowed to continue unimpeded.
