Worldline meets Q3 revenue estimates on merchant services strength
Adds CEO quotes in paragraphs 9 and 11
By Gianluca Lo Nostro
Oct 30 (Reuters) -French digital payments company Worldline WLN.PA reported on Wednesday third-quarter revenue broadly in line with analyst expectations, as a resilient performance in its merchant services business offset the termination of some contracts.
Revenue in the third quarter of the year fell 1.1% organically year-on-year to 1.16 billion euros ($1.3 billion), in line with analysts' average estimate of 1.17 billion euros in a company-provided consensus.
The merchant services business - which contributes around 75% of the group's adjusted core profit and provides services in payment terminals and e-commerce - saw 0.2% growth in revenue in the quarter, helped by steady growth in Central Europe and increased market share in southern Europe.
Facing slower consumer spending in Europe and a slump in its market valuation that led to its exclusion from France's blue-chip CAC 40 index .FCHI last year, Worldline's attempts to boost its share price have been hampered by repeated cuts to its financial targets.
The Paris-based company, which processes digital transactions for clients ranging from merchants to government agencies, issued profit warnings in August and September, the more recent of which was announced with the exit of long-time CEO Gilles Grapinet.
The group confirmed its 2024 forecasts for adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of around 1.1 billion euros and organic growth of about 1%.
"We aim to return progressively to mid-single-digit revenue growth in 2025," CEO Marc-Henri Desportes said in a statement.
Desportes was appointed for an interim period as Worldline management is still looking for Grapinet's successor.
"The board directors will name a new CEO, I'm committed to action today," he said on a conference call with journalists.
Investment bank Intermonte analysts have said tie-ups are back on the table in the payments industry, pointing to Mario Draghi's report on European Union competitiveness which could pave the way for a merger between Worldline and its Italian rival Nexi NEXII.MI.
"We have built a great success story in Italy, it's normal for this to generate rumors... but what matters now is the margin of our business, that's our priority," Desportes said when asked about further M&A activity in Italy.
($1 = 0.9206 euros)
Post-pandemic boom waning in the payments industry https://reut.rs/48sHk3L
Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise
Aset Berkaitan
Berita Terkini
Penafian: Entiti XM Group menyediakan perkhidmatan pelaksanaan sahaja dan akses ke Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian, yang membolehkan sesorang melihat dan/atau menggunakan kandungan yang ada di dalam atau melalui laman web, tidak bertujuan untuk mengubah atau memperluas, juga tidak mengubah atau mengembangkannya. Akses dan penggunaan tersebut tertakluk kepada: (i) Terma dan Syarat; (ii) Amaran Risiko; dan Penafian Penuh. Oleh itu, kandungan sedemikian disediakan tidak lebih dari sekadar maklumat umum. Terutamanya, perlu diketahui bahawa kandungan Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian bukan permintaan, atau tawaran untuk melakukan transaksi dalam pasaran kewangan. Berdagang dalam mana-mana pasaran kewangan melibatkan tahap risiko yang besar terhadap modal anda.
Semua bahan yang diterbitkan di Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian kami bertujuan hanya untuk tujuan pendidikan/maklumat dan tidak mengandungi – dan tidak boleh dianggap mengandungi nasihat kewangan, cukai pelaburan atau dagangan dan cadangan, atau rekod harga dagangan kami, atau tawaran, atau permintaan untuk suatu transaksi dalam sebarang instrumen kewangan atau promosi kewangan yang tidak diminta kepada anda.
Sebarang kandungan pihak ketiga serta kandungan yang disediakan oleh XM, seperti pendapat, berita, penyelidikan, analisis, harga, maklumat lain atau pautan ke laman web pihak ketiga yang terdapat dalam laman web ini disediakan berdasarkan "seadanya" sebagai ulasan pasaran umum dan bukanlah nasihat pelaburan. Sesuai dengan apa-apa kandungan yang ditafsir sebagai penyelidikan pelaburan, anda mestilah ambil perhatian dan menerima bahawa kandungan tersebut tidak bertujuan dan tidak sediakan berdasarkan keperluan undang-undang yang direka untuk mempromosikan penyelidikan pelaburan bebas dan oleh itu, ia dianggap sebagai komunikasi pemasaran di bawah peraturan dan undang-undang yang berkaitan. SIla pastikan bahawa anda telah membaca dan memahami Notifikasi mengenai Penyelidikan Pelaburan Bukan Bebas dan Amaran Risiko mengenai maklumat di atas yang boleh diakses di sini.
