Scottish mobile phone ticket firm snapped up by NCR

The creator of software to deliver concert tickets and airline boarding passes via mobile phones has been acquired by NCR Corporation, the New York-listed technology giant.

Mobiqa made a loss of 624,500 in the year to the end June, and losses continued until September, according to its latest accounts. The directors expected the firm to become profitable in the latter half of 2010.

However, auditor Ernst & Young said the likelihood of Mobiqa continuing as a going concern was "dependent primarily upon the company achieving its revenue projections. These circumstances represent a material uncertainty that may case significant doubt upon the company's ability to continue as a going concern," the accounts said.

NCR said the deal, for an undisclosed sum, would establish a "global mobile centre of excellence" in Scotland. Mobiqa's facility in Edinburgh's Causewayside would complement NCR's existing research and development facility in Dundee, it said.

Mobiqa provides tickets, boarding passes, downloadable applications and coupons in the travel, entertainment and retail sectors.

The company is able to deliver content to smartphones and legacy handsets through more than 600 mobile networks in 150 countries.

John Bruno, executive vice-president for NCR, said: "We are dedicated to making consumers' experience of interacting with businesses easier by giving them the ability to move seamlessly between self-service mobile, online and kiosk channels."

Formed in 2002, Mobiqa is privately-owned.

Its single biggest shareholder is Scottish Enterprise and counts major global brands as its customers, including Qatar Airways, Olympic Air, Aegean, Vueling, Spanair, LOT and Ticketmaster.