New Plus SMS boss upbeat

The wait may soon be over for Plus SMS shareholders wanting to see it finally generate some revenue, the company said at its annual meeting.

Plus SMS, which posted a $1.3 million loss for the 10 months to September last year, enables companies to run global text message campaigns and competitions using single codes.

Revenue would start to flow in a few months after about three years spent acquiring codes.

On his second day as Plus SMS chief executive, Christopher Tiensch said the company anticipated signing a deal with one of the world's largest mobile messaging company in the next couple of days.

"In the coming months we will also have a better idea of our revenue forecast and how that will play out over the next year," Tiensch said.

However, Plus SMS would continue to burn cash as the business grew.

In April, Singapore-based International Sports Television, which markets various short codes for Plus SMS, signed the company's first two commercial deals, each of which was expected to exceed $3 million in value.

Plus SMS' share price closed up 4c yesterday at 54c a share.

Shareholders also approved the purchase by Jersey-based investment firm Hewon Capital of up to 20 per cent of the company in a deal worth $5 million up front for 10 million shares and ultimately up to $40 million.

"The ability for content providers and brands to reach over 1.5 billion mobile users around the world and provide interactive communication is a powerful tool that has long term sustainable value," Tiensch said.

Plus SMS already has more than 1000 codes including "football, "rugby" and "sport", and is aiming to acquire the rights of up to a few thousand.

The text messaging company is based on the Isle of Man but joined the NZX last year through a back-door listing using the shell of failed retailer RetailX.

The company was also planning to list its UK subsidiary on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market by the end of the year, Tiensch said.