FLEETCOR earnings down slightly in Q1

Link to full report

Global commercial fuel-card and business payments company FLEETCOR Technologies Inc. (NYSE: FLT) on Wednesday reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.82 for the first quarter, a 6% decrease from adjusted EPS of $3 in the first quarter of 2020.

After better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, FLEETCOR’s first-quarter net revenue was $609 million, an 8% year-over-year decrease.

“Although revenue and adjusted EPS were down, … we remain encouraged that new sales were up 7% over last year and retention continued to improve, which together will help drive our future growth,” Ron Clarke, chairman and CEO at FLEETCOR, said in a release.

First-quarter sales were “nothing short of fantastic,” with 93% revenue-weighted volume retention, which is the best it’s been in years, Clarke noted during the earnings call.

The Atlanta-based company reported fuel transaction revenue of $262 million, 10% lower year-over-year. Fuel revenue was off modestly at $2.38 per transaction, a 3.6% year-over-year decrease.

“2021 is off to a good start, with first quarter revenue results in line with our expectations and adjusted net income per share slightly better than our original outlook, mostly due to credit performance,” Clarke said.

FLEETCOR on Monday announced it had refinanced its securitization and Term B credit facilities. The purpose was to lock in low rates at longer durations. Following the anticipated closing of the AFEX acquisition in the second quarter, the company will have nearly $2 billion in liquidity, according to Charles Freund, CFO at FLEETCOR.

2021 and second-quarter outlook

“We are maintaining our full year revenue guidance, and raising our adjusted net income per diluted share guidance $0.12 to $12.42 at the mid-point to reflect our first quarter results compared to our expectations. Volumes should continue to recover and build throughout the year as economies around the world reopen, and we expect to return to growth in both revenue and earnings per share next quarter,” Freund said.

The company expects adjusted net income per diluted share to fall between $2.80 and $3 for the second quarter of 2021.