Wright Express Shares Rise On First-quarter Profit

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Shares of Wright Express Corp., a payment processor for commercial and government vehicle fleets, soared after the company's first-quarter profit handily beat Wall Street expectations.

Wright Express shares rose $3.74, or 18 percent, to $24.08 in midday trading. Shares have traded between $8.21 and $34.75 in the past 52 weeks.

For the three months ended March 31, Wright Express said net income was $11 million, or 28 cents per share, down 24 percent from $14.5 million, or 36 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.

Adjusted net income excluding one-time charges was 42 cents per share for the first quarter. On average, analysts polled by Thomson One were expecting quarterly earnings of 27 cents per share.

Quarterly revenue fell 26 percent to $69.2 million, down from $92.9 million in 2008.

Wright Express raised its outlook for the year to between $1.50 and $1.70 per share, up from its previous estimate of $1.30 to $1.50 per share.

In a note to investors, Janney analyst Thomas McCrohan noted that Wright Express benefited from much lower credit provisions this quarter. In affirming his "Buy" rating on the company, McCrohan noted that the improvement in credit loss assumptions appears sustainable.