WEX total revenues up 41% in first quarter of 2017

Photo / Tim Greenway Melissa Smith, president and CEO of WEX Inc.

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By James McCarthy

After closing out 2016 as a $1 billion company, WEX Inc. continues to ride a strong growth trajectory, reporting today that total revenue for its first quarter of 2017 increased 41% to $291.4 million. That’s up from $205.9 million for the same period a year ago.

Adjusted net income for the South Portland fleet payments and corporate solutions company (NYSE: WEX) for the first quarter was $52.9 million, or $1.23 per share, up 26% from a year ago. Net earnings increased $6.3 million to $29.4 million, compared to $23.1 million a year ago. Both Q1 results beat analyst expectations, according to StreetInsider.com.

In mid-morning trading, WEX shares were down 3.17%, to $103.54.

In a telephone interview with Mainebiz this morning, WEX President and CEO Melissa Smith acknowledged the strong earnings, in part, are due to the return on investments made in 2016 — most notably the July 2016 purchase of the Utah-based fleet and corporate payments company Electronic Funds Source LLC for $1.1 billion cash plus 4 million shares of common stock. But what stands out most to her is the trajectory of the company’s “organic growth” across all three of its divisions.

“It’s hard work and it happens every day,” she said of the ways in which WEX’s 2,700 employees worldwide, including 750 in Maine, are finding opportunities to expand the company’s reach into both existing and new markets. Some examples of that organic growth gleaned from the earnings report:

Total fuel transactions processed by the fleet card division increased 24% to $123.9 million.
Total travel and corporate solutions card purchase volume grew 35% to $6.6 billion, up from $4.9 billion for the same period a year ago.
Total health and benefits solutions purchase volume grew 23% to $1.3 billion, up from $1.1 billion a year ago.

The diversification that the company’s health and travel businesses have added to its core fleet card services, she added, continued to play a key role in the company’s long-term growth trajectory.

Looking ahead, WEX projected revenues in the range of $1.165 billion to $1.205 billion for the full year of 2017, with adjusted net income in the range of $221 million to $237 million.