WEX tops $1B in revenue for 2016

File Photo / Tim Greenway Melissa Smith, president and CEO of Wex Inc., reported today the company's 2016 year-end financials, which show that its revenue for the first time ever had topped $1 billion

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By James McCarthy

WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) is now a $1 billion company, joining an elite group of Maine companies that that have reached that milestone, including L.L.Bean, IDEXX and Hannaford.

WEX reported today that for the full year 2016, revenue increased 19% to $1.018 billion, up from $854.6 million in 2015.

Its total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2016 increased 37% year-over-year, with the South Portland company ending the quarter with $290.8 million in total revenue compared with $212.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2015.

Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research expected $279.6 million in total revenue for the quarter, Morningstar reported today. The company also beat Wall Street expectations for per-share earnings, with the reported $1.28 per share earnings being 3 cents per share higher than the average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research, Morningstar reported.

In a telephone interview with Mainebiz this morning, WEX President and CEO Melissa Smith said achieving the $1 billion milestone is the result of a lot of hard work by the company’s 2,500 employees around the world.

“It takes a village,” she said. “We’re obviously very excited. We could see it coming this year as we progressed. We’ve had a lot of milestones over the years, but the billion-dollar mark is pretty significant. There aren’t many of us at that size here in Maine.”

Smith said WEX outperformed in all three of its core segments for the fourth quarter, with its fleet division reporting a 41% increase in total revenues for the quarter to $192.2 million; the travel and corporate solutions division reporting a 12% increase to $53.45 million; and the health and employee benefits solutions division reporting a 55% increase to $45.1 million.

Total revenues for the year increased significantly for each division as well: fleet, up 17% to $642 million; travel and corporate, up 10% to $215.2 million; health and employee benefits, up 44% to $161.1 million.

“Over the past year we have grown both organically and through strategic investments,” Smith said in a statement accompanying the 2016 earnings report. “Our business is more global, diverse and innovative than ever before, and our capabilities continue to expand and position ourselves to compete in the global marketplace. Our performance in both the fourth quarter and fiscal year has provided us with a very solid foundation as we look forward to the company’s continued success.”

Looking forward, WEX reported it expects revenue in the range of $275 million to $285 million in the first quarter and for the full year in the range of $1.15 billion to $1.19 billion.