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WEX Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2016 Financial Results

October 27, 2016 6:45 AM

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- WEX Inc. (NYSE: WEX), a leading provider of corporate payment solutions, today reported financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2016.

Third Quarter 2016 Financial Results

Total revenue for the third quarter of 2016 increased 27.3% to $287.8 million from $226.1 million for the third quarter of 2015. During the quarter, lower fuel prices negatively impacted revenue by $10.7 million when compared to the prior year period. The impact of foreign currency translation was not material.

Net earnings attributable to shareholders on a GAAP basis decreased $12.5 million to $19.7 million, or $0.46 per diluted share, compared with $32.2 million, or $0.83 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2015. The Company's adjusted net income attributable to shareholders, which is a non-GAAP measure, for the third quarter of 2016 was $53.4 million, or $1.25 per diluted share, which is above the high end of our guidance range, down from $1.30 per diluted share for the same period last year. Please note that beginning this quarter, adjusted net income excludes the amortization of debt issuance costs. For comparative purposes, adjusted net income year to date and for the prior period also reflects this change. See Exhibit 1 for a full explanation and reconciliation of adjusted net income attributable to shareholders and adjusted net income attributable to shareholders per diluted share to the comparable GAAP measures.

"I am extremely pleased to report our results for the quarter came in ahead of our top and bottom line expectations," said Melissa Smith, WEX’s president and chief executive officer. "Our commitment to expanding our market-leading offerings, accelerating growth across our core verticals, and capturing scale continues to pay off. This includes furthering the price modernization work in Fleet, making meaningful headway on the integration of EFS, robust growth in our health and employee benefits business, as well as capturing new business signings and marquee client renewals during the quarter."

Smith continued, "Overall, I am encouraged by the strength of our growth engine, the diversity of our business as we continue to expand globally, and our pipeline, which remains robust across our core verticals. We made significant progress in achieving our strategic objectives for the year and remain excited about our ability to carry this momentum through the fourth quarter and into next year."

Third Quarter 2016 Performance Metrics

Financial Guidance and Assumptions

The Company provides revenue guidance on a GAAP basis and earnings guidance on a non-GAAP basis, due to the uncertainty and indeterminate amount of certain elements that are included in reported GAAP earnings.

"We are pleased by our strong performance this quarter, and remain encouraged by our momentum entering the final quarter of 2016. As we look ahead, our updated guidance for the full year reflects favorable contributions from our outperformance in the third quarter, slightly improved fuel prices compared to our prior assumption, contributions from EFS, and operational efficiencies. We look forward to a strong close to 2016," said Roberto Simon, WEX's chief financial officer.

Fourth quarter 2016 guidance is based on an assumed average U.S. retail fuel price of $2.32 per gallon. Full-year 2016 guidance is based on an assumed average U.S. retail fuel price of $2.22 per gallon. The fuel prices referenced above are based on the applicable NYMEX futures price. Our guidance assumes approximately 43 million shares outstanding for the fourth quarter.

The Company's guidance also assumes that fourth quarter 2016 fleet credit loss will range between 12 and 17 basis points, and full year 2016 fleet credit loss will range between 10 and 11 basis points.

The Company's adjusted net income guidance, which is a non-GAAP measure, excludes acquisition and divestiture related items, certain debt restructuring costs and debt issuance cost amortization, stock-based compensation, restructuring costs, net foreign currency remeasurement gains and losses, non-cash adjustments related to tax receivable agreement, similar adjustments attributed to our non-controlling interest and certain tax related items.

Additional Information

Management uses the non-GAAP measures presented within this news release to evaluate the Company's performance on a comparable basis. Management believes that investors may find these measures useful for the same purposes, but cautions that they should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, disclosure in accordance with GAAP.

WEX historically used fuel-price derivative instruments to mitigate financial risks associated with the variability in fuel prices in North America. Starting with the second quarter of 2016, there are no longer any fuel price related derivatives outstanding.

To provide investors with additional insight into its operational performance, WEX has included in this news release in Exhibit 2, a table illustrating the impact of foreign currency translations and fuel prices for each of our operating segments for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, and in Exhibit 3, a table of selected non-financial metrics for the five quarters ended September 30, 2016. The Company is also providing selected segment revenue information for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015 in Exhibit 4.

Conference Call Details

In conjunction with this announcement, WEX will host a conference call today, October 27, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. (ET). As previously announced, the conference call will be webcast live on the Internet, and can be accessed at the Investor Relations section of the WEX website, http://www.wexinc.com. The live conference call also can be accessed by dialing (866) 334-7066 or (973) 935-8463. The Conference ID number is 88565999. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Company's website.

About WEX Inc.

WEX Inc. (NYSE: WEX) is a leading provider of corporate payment solutions. From its roots in fleet card payments beginning in 1983, WEX has expanded the scope of its business into a multi-channel provider of corporate payment solutions representing more than 10 million vehicles and offering exceptional payment security and control across a wide spectrum of business sectors. WEX serves a global set of customers and partners through its operations around the world, with offices in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Norway, and Singapore. WEX and its subsidiaries employ more than 2,500 associates. The Company has been publicly traded since 2005, and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “WEX.” For more information, visit www.wexinc.com and follow WEX on Twitter at @WEXIncNews.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding: financial guidance; assumptions underlying the Company's financial guidance; beliefs about momentum and opportunities to drive scale; and, confidence about the Company’s market position, product offerings and customer service. Any statements that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, the words "may," "could," "anticipate," "plan," "continue," "project," "intend," "estimate," "believe," "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such words. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including: the effects of general economic conditions on fueling patterns as well as payment and transaction processing activity; the impact of foreign currency exchange rates on the Company’s operations, revenue and income; changes in interest rates; the impact of fluctuations in fuel prices; the effects of the Company’s business expansion and acquisition efforts; potential adverse reactions or changes to business or employee relationships, including those resulting from the completion of an acquisition; competitive responses to any acquisitions; uncertainty of the expected financial performance of the combined operations following completion of an acquisition; the ability to successfully integrate the Company's acquisitions, specifically, the Electronic Funds Source LLC's operations and employees; the ability to realize anticipated synergies and cost savings; unexpected costs, charges or expenses resulting from an acquisition; the Company's failure to successfully operate and expand ExxonMobil's European commercial fuel card program, or Esso Card; the failure of corporate investments to result in anticipated strategic value; the impact and size of credit losses; the impact of changes to the Company's credit standards; breaches of the Company’s technology systems (or those of its third party service providers) and any resulting negative impact on our reputation, liabilities or relationships with customers or merchants; the Company’s failure to maintain or renew key agreements; failure to expand the Company’s technological capabilities and service offerings as rapidly as the Company’s competitors; the actions of regulatory bodies, including banking and securities regulators, or possible changes in banking or financial regulations impacting the Company’s industrial bank, the Company as the corporate parent or other subsidiaries or affiliates; the impact of the Company’s outstanding notes on its operations; the impact of increased leverage on the Company's operations, results or borrowing capacity generally, and as a result of potential acquisitions specifically; the incurrence of impairment charges if our assessment of the fair value of certain of our reporting units changes; the uncertainties of litigation; as well as other risks and uncertainties identified in Item 1A of our annual report for the year ended December 31, 2015, filed on Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 26, 2016 and in Item 1A of our quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 28, 2016. The Company's forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential future impact of any alliance, merger, acquisition, disposition or stock repurchases. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this earnings release and undue reliance should not be placed on these statements. The Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

WEX INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF

INCOME

(in thousands, except per share data)

(unaudited)

Three months ended September 30, Nine months ended September 30,
2016 2015 2016 2015
Revenues
Payment processing revenue $ 146,182 $ 133,198 $ 383,319 $ 378,714
Account servicing revenue 58,815 39,578 150,770 115,000
Finance fee revenue 36,138 23,502 92,348 64,094
Other revenue 46,621 29,779 101,184 84,187
Total revenues 287,756 226,057 727,621 641,995
Expenses
Salary and other personnel 76,706 57,174 206,778 174,682
Restructuring 2,531 (45 ) 7,626 8,514
Service fees 53,415 36,924 136,098 100,935
Provision for credit losses 9,489 6,635 19,849 14,532
Technology leasing and support 12,517 10,157 34,525 29,612
Occupancy and equipment 7,271 5,240 19,096 15,271
Depreciation and amortization 46,008 20,778 91,381 62,924
Operating interest expense 2,599 1,483 5,490 4,419
Cost of hardware and equipment sold 859 706 2,429 2,499
Other 21,793 19,260 57,018 50,919
Gain on divestiture (1,215 )
Total operating expenses 233,188 158,312 580,290 463,092
Operating income 54,568 67,745 147,331 178,903
Financing interest expense (35,064 ) (11,330 ) (87,040 ) (35,334 )
Net foreign currency gain (loss) 5,932 6,525 17,233 (12 )
Net realized and unrealized gain on fuel price derivative instruments 7,922 711 4,671
Non-cash adjustments related to tax receivable agreement (168 ) 1,634 (168 ) 1,634
Income before income taxes 25,268 72,496 78,067 149,862
Income taxes 6,065 30,714 23,730 61,647
Net income 19,203 41,782 54,337 88,215
Less: Net (loss) gain attributable to non-controlling interests (493 ) 203 (1,013 ) (2,201 )
Net earnings attributable to WEX Inc. $ 19,696 $ 41,579 $ 55,350 $ 90,416
Accretion of non-controlling interest (9,413 ) (9,413 )
Net earnings attributable to shareholders $ 19,696 $ 32,166 $ 55,350 $ 81,003
Net earnings attributable to shareholders per share:
Basic $ 0.46 $ 0.83 $ 1.38 $ 2.09
Diluted $ 0.46 $ 0.83 $ 1.38 $ 2.08
Weighted average common shares outstanding:
Basic 42,788 38,745 40,126 38,780
Diluted 42,871 38,808 40,199 38,852

WEX INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands, except per share data)

(unaudited)

September 30, 2016 December 31, 2015
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents $ 537,150 $ 279,989
Accounts receivable (less reserve for credit losses of $13,987 in 2016 and $13,832 in 2015) 2,061,358 1,508,605
Securitized accounts receivable, restricted 89,252 87,724
Income taxes receivable 11,006
Available-for-sale securities 24,160 18,562
Fuel price derivatives, at fair value 5,007
Property, equipment and capitalized software (net of accumulated depreciation of $224,075 in 2016 and $192,140 in 2015) 162,473 138,585
Deferred income taxes, net 43,362 10,303
Goodwill 1,894,663 1,112,878
Other intangible assets, net 1,293,124 470,712
Other assets 270,142 215,544
Total assets $ 6,386,690 $ 3,847,909
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Accounts payable $ 711,101 $ 378,811
Accrued expenses 287,523 156,180
Income taxes payable 2,181 2,732
Deposits 1,286,595 870,518
Securitized debt 83,868 82,018
Revolving line-of-credit facilities and term loan, net 1,702,265 664,918
Deferred income taxes, net 227,451 83,912
Notes outstanding, net 395,351 394,800
Other debt 108,127 50,046
Amounts due under tax receivable agreement 49,612 57,537
Other liabilities 14,411 10,756
Total liabilities 4,868,485 2,752,228
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ Equity
Common stock $0.01 par value; 175,000 shares authorized; 47,171 shares issued in 2016 and 43,079 in 2015; 42,840 shares outstanding in 2016 and 38,746 in 2015 472 431
Additional paid-in capital 542,010 174,972
Non-controlling interest 11,614 12,437
Retained earnings 1,238,984 1,183,634
Accumulated other comprehensive income (102,533 ) (103,451 )
Less treasury stock at cost; 4,428 shares in 2016 and 2015 (172,342 ) (172,342 )
Total stockholders’ equity 1,518,205 1,095,681
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 6,386,690 $ 3,847,909

Exhibit 1

Reconciliation of GAAP Net Earnings Attributable to Shareholders to Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Shareholders

(in thousands, excepts per share data) (unaudited)

Three months ended September 30,
2016 2015

per diluted share

per diluted share

Net earnings attributable to shareholders $ 19,696 $ 0.46 $ 32,166 $ 0.83
Acquisition and divestiture related items 46,955 1.10 11,888 0.31
Debt restructuring and debt issuance cost amortization 9,106 0.21 778 0.02
Stock-based compensation 5,199 0.12 3,067 0.08
Restructuring and other costs 3,767 0.09 (45 )
Changes in unrealized fuel price derivatives 3,251 0.08
Net foreign currency remeasurement gains (5,932 ) (0.14 ) (6,525 ) (0.17 )
Non-cash adjustments related to tax receivable agreement 168 (1,634 ) (0.04 )
Regulatory reserve 2,250 0.06
ANI adjustments attributable to non-controlling interest (339 ) (0.01 ) 9,025 0.23
Tax related items (25,214 ) (0.59 ) (3,827 ) (0.10 )
Adjusted Net Income attributable to shareholders $ 53,406 $ 1.25 $ 50,394 $ 1.30
Nine months ended September 30,
2016 2015

per diluted share

per diluted share

Net earnings attributable to shareholders $ 55,350 $ 1.38 $ 81,003 $ 2.08
Acquisition and divestiture related items 108,805 2.71 34,843 0.90
Debt restructuring and debt issuance cost amortization 10,649 0.26 2,319 0.06
Stock-based compensation 14,312 0.36 10,227 0.26
Restructuring and other costs 11,689 0.29 8,514 0.22
Changes in unrealized fuel price derivatives 5,007 0.12 27,552 0.71
Net foreign currency remeasurement (gain) loss (17,233 ) (0.43 ) 12
Non-cash adjustments related to tax receivable agreement 168 (1,634 ) (0.04 )
Regulatory reserve 2,250 0.06
ANI adjustments attributable to non-controlling interest (1,200 ) (0.03 ) 5,407 0.14
Tax related items (53,505 ) (1.33 ) (24,570 ) (0.63 )
Adjusted Net Income attributable to shareholders $ 134,042 $ 3.33 $ 145,923 $ 3.76

Note: per share amounts may not sum due to rounding

The Company's non-GAAP adjusted net income guidance excludes acquisition and divestiture related items, debt restructuring and debt issuance cost amortization, stock-based compensation, restructuring and other costs, changes in unrealized fuel price derivatives, net foreign currency remeasurement gains and losses, non-cash adjustments related to tax receivable agreement, reserves for regulatory penalties, similar adjustments attributed to our non-controlling interest and certain tax related items.

Although adjusted net income is not calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this non-GAAP measure is integral to the Company's reporting and planning processes and the chief operating decision maker of the Company uses it to allocate resources. The Company considers this measure integral because in the periods prior to the second quarter of 2016, it eliminated the non-cash volatility associated with fuel price related derivative instruments, and it continues to exclude other specified items that the Company's management excludes in evaluating the Company's performance. Specifically, in addition to evaluating the Company's performance on a GAAP basis, management evaluates the Company's performance on a basis that excludes the above items because:

For the same reasons, WEX believes that adjusted net income may also be useful to investors as one means of evaluating the Company's performance. However, because adjusted net income is a non-GAAP measure, it should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, net income, operating income or cash flows from operating activities as determined in accordance with GAAP. In addition, adjusted net income as used by WEX may not be comparable to similarly titled measures employed by other companies. The Company is unable to reconcile our adjusted net income guidance to the comparable GAAP measure because of the difficulty in predicting the amounts to be adjusted.

The table below shows the impact of certain macro factors on reported revenue:

Exhibit 2

Segment Revenue Results(in thousands) (unaudited)

Fleet Solutions

Travel and Corporate Solutions

Health and Employee Benefit Solutions

Total WEX Inc.
Three months ended September 30,
2016 2015 2016 2015 2016 2015 2016 2015
Reported revenue $ 184,758 142,837 $63,315 $56,482 $39,683 $26,738 $287,756 $ 226,057
FX impact (favorable) / unfavorable (694 ) 1,144 (544 ) (94 )
PPG impact (favorable) / unfavorable 10,726 10,726
Nine months ended September 30,
2016 2015 2016 2015 2016 2015 2016 2015
Reported revenue $ 449,791 411,770 $161,795 $147,769 $116,035 $82,456 $727,621 $ 641,995
FX impact (favorable) / unfavorable 2,361 2,967 1,545 6,873
PPG impact (favorable) / unfavorable 40,170 40,170

To determine the impact of foreign exchange translation (“FX”) on revenue, revenue from entities whose functional currency is not denominated in U.S. dollars, as well as revenue from purchase volume transacted in non-US denominated currencies, were translated using the weighted average exchange rates for the same period in the prior year.

To determine the impact of price per gallon of fuel (“PPG”) on revenue, revenue variable to changes in fuel prices was calculated based on the average retail price of fuel for the same period in the prior year for the portion of our business that earns revenue based on a percentage of fuel spend. For the portions of our business that earns revenue based on margin spreads, revenue was calculated utilizing the comparable margin from the prior year.

The table below shows management's estimate of the impact of certain macro factors on reported Adjusted Net Income:

Segment Estimated Earnings Impact

(in thousands)

(unaudited)

Fleet Solutions

Travel and Corporate Solutions

Health and Employee Benefit Solutions

Three months ended September 30,
2016 2015 2016 2015 2016 2015
FX impact (favorable) / unfavorable $

(11

)

$336

$

(189

)
PPG impact (favorable) / unfavorable 6,443
Realized gain on hedge settlement 6,635
Nine months ended September 30,
2016 2015 2016 2015 2016 2015
FX impact (favorable) / unfavorable $

734

$870

$266

PPG impact (favorable) / unfavorable 24,233
Realized gain on hedge settlement 20,023

To determine the estimated earnings impact of foreign exchange translation (“FX”), revenue and expenses from entities whose functional currency is not denominated in U.S. dollars, as well as revenue and variable expenses from purchase volume transacted in non-US denominated currencies, were translated using the weighted average exchange rates for the same period in the prior year, net of tax.

To determine the estimated earnings impact of price per gallon of fuel (“PPG”), revenue and certain variable expenses impacted by changes in fuel prices, were adjusted based on the average retail price of fuel for the same period in the prior year for the portion of our business that earns revenue based on a percentage of fuel spend, net of applicable taxes. For the portions of our business that earn revenue based on margin spreads, revenue was adjusted to the comparable margin from the prior year, net of applicable taxes.

Exhibit 3Selected Non-Financial Metrics

(unaudited)

Q3 2016 Q2 2016 Q1 2016 Q4 2015 Q3 2015
Fleet Solutions – Payment Processing Revenue:
Payment processing transactions (000s) 102,947 94,155 89,097 84,763 89,578
Gallons per payment processing transaction 27.0 22.6 22.7 23.3 23.0
Payment processing gallons of fuel (000s) 2,776,622 2,126,372 2,018,310 1,972,028 2,064,100
Average US fuel price (US$ / gallon) $ 2.24 $ 2.29 $ 1.97 $ 2.29 $ 2.61
Average Australian fuel price (US$ / gallon) $ 3.45 $ 3.29 $ 3.10 $ 3.36 $ 3.63
Payment processing $ of fuel (000s) $ 6,593,406 $ 5,236,151 $ 4,336,399 $ 5,000,752 $ 5,825,928
Net payment processing rate 1.26 % 1.35 % 1.44 % 1.46 % 1.38 %
Fleet payment processing revenue (000s) $ 83,132 $ 70,711 $ 62,290 $ 72,995 $ 80,230
Travel and Corporate Solutions – Payment Processing Revenue:
Purchase volume (000s) $ 7,138,956 $ 5,595,326 $ 4,879,001 $ 4,567,831 $ 5,800,134
Net interchange rate 0.74 % 0.77 % 0.71 % 0.80 % 0.76 %
Payment solutions processing revenue (000s) $ 52,551 $ 43,194 $ 34,626 $ 36,726 $ 44,386
Health and Employee Benefit Solutions:
Purchase volume (000s) $ 875,598 $ 1,051,839 $ 1,092,552 $ 591,445 $ 651,845

Definitions and explanations:

Payment processing transactions represents the total number of purchases made by fleets that have a payment processing relationship with WEX.

Payment processing gallons of fuel represents the total number of gallons of fuel purchased by fleets that have a payment processing relationship with WEX.

Payment processing dollars of fuel represents the total dollar value of the fuel purchased by fleets that have a payment processing relationship with WEX.

Net payment processing rate represents the percentage of the dollar value of each payment processing transaction that WEX records as revenue from merchants less any discounts given to fleets or strategic relationships.

Payment solutions purchase volume represents the total dollar value of all transactions that use WEX corporate card products including single use account products.

Net interchange rate represents the percentage of the dollar value of each transaction that WEX records as revenue less any discounts given to customers.

Exhibit 4

Segment Revenue Information

Third Quarter Ended September 30, 2016 and 2015

(in thousands)

(unaudited)

Fleet Solutions

Three months ended September 30,

Increase (decrease)

Nine months ended September 30,

Increase (decrease)
2016 2015 Amount Percent 2016 2015 Amount Percent
Revenues
Payment processing revenue $ 83,132 $ 80,230 $ 2,902 3.6 % $ 216,133 $ 233,300 $ (17,167 ) (7.4 )%
Account servicing revenue 37,414 26,024 11,390 43.8 % 90,400 75,267 15,133 20.1 %
Finance fee revenue 33,230 21,794 11,436 52.5 % 85,841 59,858 25,983 43.4 %
Other revenue 30,982 14,789 16,193 109.5 % 57,417 43,345 14,072 32.5 %
Total revenues $ 184,758 $ 142,837 $ 41,921 29.3 % $ 449,791 $ 411,770 $

38,021

9.2 %
Travel and Corporate Solutions

Three months ended September 30,

Increase (decrease)

Nine months ended September 30,

Increase (decrease)
2016 2015 Amount Percent 2016 2015 Amount Percent
Revenues
Payment processing revenue $ 52,551 $ 44,387 $ 8,164 18.4 % $ 130,372 $ 114,586

$

15,786

13.8 %
Account servicing revenue 242 449 (207 ) (46.1 )% 852 1,329 (477 ) (35.9 )%
Finance fee revenue 115 104 11 10.6 % 336 233 103 44.2 %
Other revenue 10,407 11,542 (1,135 ) (9.8 )% 30,235 31,621 (1,386 ) (4.4 )%
Total revenues $ 63,315 $ 56,482 $ 6,833 12.1 % $ 161,795 $ 147,769

$

$14,026 9.5 %
Health and Employee Benefit Solutions

Three months ended September 30,

Increase (decrease)

Nine months ended September 30,

Increase (decrease)
2016 2015 Amount Percent 2016 2015 Amount Percent
Revenues
Payment processing revenue $ 10,499 $ 8,581 $ 1,918 22.4 % $ 36,814 $ 30,828

$

5,986

19.4 %
Account servicing revenue 21,159 13,105 8,054 61.5 % 59,518 38,404 21,114 55.0 %
Finance fee revenue 2,793 1,604 1,189 74.1 % 6,171 4,003 2,168 54.2 %
Other revenue 5,232 3,448 1,784 51.7 % 13,532 9,221 4,311 46.8 %
Total revenues $ 39,683 $ 26,738 $ 12,945 48.4 % $ 116,035 $ 82,456

$

$33,579 40.7 %

News media:

WEX Inc.

Jessica Roy, 207-523-6763

[email protected]

or

Investor:

WEX Inc.

Steve Elder, 207-523-7769

[email protected]

Source: WEX Inc.

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