Improvements in the economy and continued strong growth in its MasterCard program helped boost Wright Express Corp.’s first-quarter performance, the South Portland, Maine-based fleet card issuer says.
The company, which also processes commercial and government fleet card transactions, says it generated net income of $18.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, up 69.1% from $11 million during the same period last year. Revenue rose 22.3%, to $83.8 million from $68.5 million.
The Wright Express brand and customer loyalty is helping maintain and boost performance, company executives told analysts during an earnings conference call last week.
“Our strong brand positioning is integral to our value proposition and an important differentiator for us in a fleet card market that remains significantly underpenetrated and addressable for long-term growth,” Mike Dubyak, Wright Express chairman, president and CEO, told analysts. “The new marketing campaigns we’ve launched in 2010 are producing solid results, and our fleet and MasterCard new-business pipelines are looking very good as we move through the second quarter.”
Holders of MasterCard-branded Wright Express cards spent $853 million during the quarter, up 31.4% from $649 million during the same period last year. The company’s diversified businesses, led by the MasterCard initiative, contributed $18 million in revenue, or 22% of the company’ total, and Dubyak expects that contribution to grow to 30% over the next few years.
Wright Express served 4.5 million vehicles during the quarter, down 4.3% from 4.7 million a year ago. Total fuel transactions processed declined 2.4%, to 61.8 million from 63.3 million.
Total payments processed stayed flat at 49.1 million. However, payment-processing revenue was up 30%, to $57.8 million from $44.4 million. The average fuel price increased 38%, to $2.76 per gallon from $2 per gallon a year ago.
