VeriFone Swings To Profit

(RTTNews) - Credit- and debit-card swipe machine maker VeriFone Systems Inc. (PAY) said Thursday after the markets closed that it swung to a second quarter profit, as revenue increased and gross margin improved due to strong performance in North America.

The company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, also came in above analysts' expectations as did its adjusted revenue. However, the company gave a slightly downbeat outlook for the current quarter, but raised its full year forecast.

"Q2 was an important quarter for Verifone. The team performed extremely well across a number of key areas as we achieved record North America results while also gaining share across several key European markets," said Paul Galant, Chief Executive Officer of Verifone.

VeriFone shares are currently losing 1.69% in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at $38.35, down 58 cents or 1.49%. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $28.19 to $39.25.

For the second quarter ended April 30, 2015, the San Jose, California-based company reported net income for the second quarter of $17.6 million or $0.15 per share, compared to a net loss of $23.9 million or $0.22 per share for the year-ago quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted net income for the second quarter was $50.9 million or $0.44 per share, compared to $41.6 million or $0.37 per share in the prior year quarter.

On average, 20 analyst polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.42 per share for the second quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Gross margin for the quarter improved to 41.6% from 37.6% a year ago, while adjusted gross margin increased to 42.8% from 41.4% last year.

Net revenues for the second quarter rose 5.1% to $490.1 million from $466.4 million a year ago, while adjusted net revenues increased 5% to $490.3 million from $466.8 million last year. Fourteen analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $489.09 million for the second quarter.

For the second quarter, the company had forecast adjusted revenues of $485 million to $489 million and adjusted earnings of $0.41 to $0.42 per share.

Looking forward to the third quarter, the company forecasts adjusted net revenues of $495 million to $500 million and adjusted earnings of $0.44 to $0.46 per share. Analysts currently expect the company to earn $0.46 per share on revenue of $501.41 million for the third quarter.

For the fiscal year 2015, the company now forecasts adjusted net revenues of $1.995 billion to $2.0 billion and adjusted earnings of $1.81 to $1.84 per share. Previously, the company forecast adjusted net revenues of $1.990 billion to $2.0 billion and adjusted earnings of $1.78 to $1.82 per share.

Analysts currently expect the company to earn $1.83 per share on revenue of $2.00 billion for the fiscal year 2015.