Digital initiatives cause for optimism at Vantiv

A unique perspective into the holiday season was provided by leading payments processor Vantiv when the company reported strong third quarter results but expressed reservations about the volume of activity during the fourth quarter.

The company said its third quarter revenues increase 14% to $532 million and net income on an adjusted basis increase 17% to $80 million compared to $68.1 million while adjusted earnings per share increased 25% to 40 cents from 32 cents.

"Our double-digit growth in the third quarter demonstrates the strength of our business model," said Charles Drucker, president and chief executive officer at Vantiv. "We continue to win in the market and invest for growth - including the successes in our direct merchant, ecommerce, and technology partner channels. Looking ahead, we will continue to set a high-bar for success. By executing our strategy, Vantiv will continue to grow and win share in the payments market."

The company went on to say that based on the current level of consumer spending activity as well as the current level of new business activity, net revenue for its fourth quarter is expected to be $303 to $308 million and pro forma adjusted net income is expected to be between 43 cents and 45 cents a share. Those figures were below analysts’ estimates. The company said its outlook for the fourth quarter includes negative impacts related to lower consumer spending trends, delays in large client conversions, as well as slower ramping of new business and related impacts.