The Princeton, N.J., transaction processor Heartland Payment Systems Inc. reported record earnings for the third quarter but cut its full-year guidance on concerns about poor economic conditions.
Heartland said Tuesday that its revenue climbed 20% from a year earlier, to $424.8 million. Net income rose 14%, to $13.4 million. The results, like those for the second quarter, were boosted by the May acquisition of Alliance Data Network Services LLC, a unit now known as Network Services.
The growth was despite weak economic trends, Heartland said.
"Our dedicated sales force is finding new and creative strategies to gain market share to sustain our overall growth at a time when a slowing economy is reducing the processing volume of our existing merchants," Robert Carr, its chairman and chief executive, said in a press release.
Net revenue — a figure that excludes interchange, dues, and assessments — rose 47.9%, to $119.3 million. Card processing volume rose 42.4%, to $20 billion.
Heartland now expects organic net revenue (which excludes Network Services) to grow 15% to 16% this year, to a range of $349 million to $352 million; in August it said it expected growth of 16% to 18%.
Including Network Services, Heartland expects net revenue to grow 35%, to $410 million. It also expects full-year earnings of $1.12 to $1.15 a share, versus a previous range of $1.13 to $1.17.