Visa Inc. V posted fourth-quarter fiscal 2015 (ended Sep 30) operating earnings per Class A common share of 62 cents, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The bottom line improved 44% year over year.
Behind the Headlines
Total operating revenue for the reported quarter was $3.6 billion, up 11% year over year and in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. On a constant currency basis, revenues grew 13% from the year-ago quarter. The upside, driven by solid service revenues, data processing and international transaction revenues, was partly offset by a strong U.S. dollar.
Operating expense $1.3 billion was down 23.2% year over year due to lower litigation provision, partly offset by higher personnel and marketing expense.
Service revenues – recognized on payments volume in the prior quarter – increased 9% year over year to $1.6 billion. All other revenue categories were recognized on current-quarter activity. Data processing revenues grew 6% from the prior-year quarter to $1.4 billion.
Additionally, International transaction revenues, driven by cross-border payments volume, rose 16% from the prior-year quarter to $1.1 billion. Other revenues, earned through Visa Europe’s licensing fee, were $216 million, up 3% from the year-ago quarter. Client incentives – a contra-revenue item – came at $802 million, and accounted for 18.4% of gross revenues.
Payments volume growth, on a constant dollar basis, was $1.3 trillion, representing a year-over-year increase of 12%. Total processed transactions carrying the VisaNet brand increased 8% year over year to 18.4 billion. Cross-border volume, on a constant dollar basis, grew 5% from the prior-year quarter.
Financial Update
As of Sep 30, 2015, cash and cash equivalents amounted to $3.52 billion, up from $1.97 billion as of Sep 31, 2014. Total assets increased to $40.2 billion from $38.6 billion at Sep 30, 2014. Total equity was $29.8 billion, up from $27.4 billion as of Sep 30, 2014.
Share Repurchase and Dividend Update
During the reported quarter, Visa did not repurchase shares of class A common stock. However, Visa authorized a new $5.0 billion repurchase program, in addition to the previously announced 17% quarterly per share dividend increase.
Guidance
Visa provided an insight into fiscal 2016 earnings. The company expects annual net revenue growth in high single-digit to low double-digit range on a constant dollar basis. Foreign currency is expected to adversely impact revenue by 3%; client incentives as a percent of gross revenues would fall in the range of 17.5% to 18.5%; annual operating margin is projected at mid 60%, the tax rate should come in the low 30% range; and annual free cash flow is anticipated at $7 billion.
Acquisition of Visa Europe
The company also announced that it would buy its former subsidiary Visa Europe Ltd in a deal valued at $23.3 billion. The buyout will enable Visa to gain cost synergies over the long term and raise fees in the second-biggest card market – Europe. Visa will issue $16 billion in debt to fund the transaction which will dilute full-year adjusted earnings in fiscal 2016, but will be accretive to revenue and earnings growth in 2017.
Zacks Rank
Visa currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Performance by Other Players
Other players in the same sector – such as Capital One Financial Corporation COF and Discover Financial Services DFS – reported their July- September quarter earnings ahead of the our respective estimates but American Express Company AXP missed the same.
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