Another booming Christmas on for e-tailers was good news for CyberSource (Nasdaq: CYBS), a developer of electronic payment systems and software. But this company is more than just a once-a-year story, and its BidPay.com business may become a new source of growth.
In the fiscal fourth quarter, revenues increased from $14.9 million to $20.9 million. The company snagged roughly 1,800 new customers, for a total customer count of more than 18,000. Net income was $12.5 million, or $0.34 per share, up from $5.2 million or $0.14 per share in the year-ago. The jump in earnings was partly due to a tax benefit.
Started in 1994, CyberSource currently has portfolio of systems for online transactions, allowing for a variety of payment options, fraud protection, and regulatory compliance. Its marquee customers include Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), H&R Block (NYSE: HRB), and Nike (NYSE: NKE).
Back in March, CyberSource acquired BidPay.com, which allows for person-to-person online payments. BidPay was a defunct business at the time, though it did have a decent brand, technologies, and customer lists. CyberSource restarted the company in June, and it's since gained considerable traction. During the past quarter, for example, the number of registered users increased from 120,000 to 254,000. Moreover, the revenue contribution is expected to range from $3.5 million to $4 million for 2007.
As evidenced by eBay's (Nasdaq: EBAY) PayPal unit, the person-to-person transactions market is large and profitable. On the conference call, CyberSource's management indicated it had a chance to "capture a meaningful share" of that market. We'll see about that.
CyberSource continues to invest in its infrastructure. Despite heavy usage during the Christmas rush, the company's systems had 99.995% reliability. Management expects revenues of $20.6 million and a net loss of $0.01 per share in the first quarter; for the year, it's forecasting $0.09 to $0.11 per share, and revenues of $90 million to $95 million.
With CyberSource, investors can directly benefit from the continued growth in online payments. By all accounts, that growth should continue for some time. What's more, BidPay.com is a good extension of CyberSource's core business, and it's quickly becoming a positive catalyst for growth.
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Fool contributor Tom Taulli does not own shares mentioned in this article.
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