Wright Express Corp., a payment-processing company for commercial and government vehicle fleets, recently reported a 3.6% rise in revenue for last year’s fourth quarter, to $83.8 million from $80.9 million during the same period a year earlier.
The company attributed the revenue increase in part to growth in its MasterCard segment. On MasterCard-branded Wright Express cards, purchase volume grew 34.3% , to $787 million from $586 in 2008.
“Our positive Q4 results were a reflection of higher payment processing revenue driven by higher fuel prices than assumed in our guidance and another quarter of out-performance in MasterCard,” Melissa Smith, chief financial officer and executive vice president of finance and operations, told analysts during a conference call.
Net income for the quarter was $12.1 million, down 81.4% from $65.2 million during the same quarter in 2008.
“We are continuing to manage our way through a tough environment, and Wright Express performed very well this quarter,” Wright Chairman and CEO Michael Dubyak told analysts in a conference call. He noted that both revenue and net income exceeded the high end of the company’s guidance range.
South Portland, Maine-based Wright Express served an average of 4.6 million vehicles during the quarter, essentially the same number as a year earlier. Total fuel transactions declined 4.8%, to 63.5 million from 66.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Payment transactions processed decreased 2.5%, to 50.2 million from 51.5 million.
Total revenue for the fleet segments fell 1%, to $73.7 million from $74.4 million. Fleet payment processing revenue decreased 4.8%, to $48.1 million from $50.5 million.
The average expenditure per payment processed was up 2%, to $53.87 from $52.79. The average retail fuel price increased 2%, to $2.65 per gallon from $2.59.
For all of 2009, company revenue totaled $318.2 million, down 19.2% from $393.6 million in 2008. Net income was up 9.5%, to $139.7 million from $127.6 million.
