Visa Inc (NYSE:V), the world's biggest payments processor, reported on Wednesday a slight beat on fiscal fourth quarter earnings per share with revenue for the quarter was higher compared to the year-ago mark although it was slightly below market expectations. Shares posting modest losses in afterhours trade.
Net operating revenues in the fiscal fourth quarter were $5.4 billion, an increase of 12% over the $4.86 billion a year ago and the consensus of $5.44 billion. EPS came in at $1.21, slightly above the consensus of $1.20 and the year-ago level of $0.90.
The performance was driven by continued growth in payments volume, cross-border volume and processed transactions, the company said.
For fiscal 2018, adjusted net income was $10.7 billion or $4.61 per share, an increase of 29% and 32%, respectively, over the prior year results, the company said.
Net operating revenues in the fiscal full-year 2018 were $20.6 billion, an increase of 12%, driven also by continued growth in payments volume, cross-border volume and processed transactions.
For fiscal 2019, Visa guided that annual net revenue growth would be in the low double-digits on a nominal basis, with approximately 1 percentage point of negative foreign currency impact.
READ: Visa's quarterly revenue beats forecasts but slower growth in coming months seen
A pair of equity research brokerages said the results of Visa were solid and reiterated their rating of Outperform for the stock.
"We are encouraged by another strong quarter with continued broad-based volume growth," Oppenheimer Equity Research analysts Andrew Hummel and Glenn Greene said in a research note to clients.
It said volume growth is "solid" and the completion of Europe IT integration should allow Visa to "more intensely focus on volume acceleration, geographic expansion and yield enhancement opportunities in the region."
Oppenheimer set a 12 to 18 month price target of $162.
For its part, Wedbush analyst Moshe Katri said in a research note to clients that the results reflected strong consumer spending trends, share gains stemming from electronic payments over cash/checks, further revenue/cost synergies from Visa Europe transaction, potential European-based opportunities as well as rising traction in other areas.
Katri forecast a 12-month price target of $150.
Shares of Visa rose at the start of trade by 1.23% to $135.91 on Thursday, having finished 3.5% lower on Wednesday at $134.26.
Visa is the world’s biggest processor of digital payments. It has the biggest payment network connecting individuals, businesses and economies. The Visa network is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second.
The company is based in San Francisco, California.
Reporting by Rene Pastor, contactable on rene.pastor@proactiveinvestors.com