Verifone
Paving its way to success
The San Jose, Calif.-based company witnessed an exciting fourth quarter as profits nearly quadrupled from the year-ago period to $198.8 million. The huge jump in profits was mainly due to an income tax benefit that the company enjoyed to the tune of $205.1 million and 50% higher revenues of $410.7 million. However, if you exclude extraordinary items like the income tax benefit, the company's profits still rose by 57.9% to $57 million from the previous year's adjusted fourth-quarter profit.
Verifone's business has been booming across most geographical regions. In complete defiance of the European debt crises, the company's combined revenue from Europe, Middle East, and Africa more than doubled from the year-ago quarter to $148.6 million. Verifone's Latin American operations also saw revenues zoom 94.1% to 104.6 million, while Asia saw 40.3% higher revenues. However, revenues from Canada declined by 5.3% to $115.7 million.
Spreading its wings
Verifone's fourth quarter was certainly quite busy with two acquisitions under its belt.
In November, Verifone announced its acquisition of Global Bay Mobile Technologies, a provider of next-generation mobile retail solutions. The company said that the acquisition would enhance Verifone's initiatives to bring the smartphone- and tablet-based shopping and payment experience to retail businesses. This would certainly be helpful, especially at a time when smartphones and tablets like the Apple iPhone and iPad are the craze.
Besides that, back in August, the company finalized its acquisition of Hypercom, a manufacturer of point-of-sale terminals. The company said that the acquisition of Hypercom would complement its business and Verifone would try to enhance all of Hypercom's product lines under the Verifone brand itself.
Come rain or shine...
The company was also busy lapping up key partnerships during the quarter. For example, Verifone entered into a partnership with Visa
Verifone's strategic relationship with Google
The Foolish bottom line
Verifone seems to be making all the right moves with its partnerships and acquisitions. Going forward, I feel that Verifone stands to gain immensely through its ongoing partnerships, which would continue to boost the company's top-line growth. So what do you Fools think of Verifone? Leave your comments in the box below. Also, don't forget to stay up to speed with Verifone's latest money-spinning deals by adding it to your very own watchlist. It's free and lets you stay on top of the latest news and analysis for your favorite companies.
Keki Fatakia does not hold shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article. The Motley Fool owns shares of Google. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Visa and Google. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.