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Repay Holdings Corp. said its 2019 card payment volume of $10.7 billion was a 44% increase over the combined 2018 figures for its constituent units, the Atlanta-based processor reported Monday.
Formed in mid-2019 through the merger of Hawk Parent Holdings LLC and a subsidiary of Thunder Bridge Acquisition Ltd., Repay specializes in consumer-finance payments, receivables management, health care, and providing services to financial institutions.
In February, it acquired Ventanex, an integrated-payments provider operating in consumer finance, especially mortgage-loan servicing, business-to-business health-care payments, and some other segments, for up to $50 million. And, not long after Repay’s formation, the company acquired TriSource Solutions for up to $65 million. It also acquired business-to-business payments provider APS Payments last year.
“Including the impact of these acquisitions, we experienced year-over-year growth in card payment volume and gross profit of 44% and 43%, respectively. Organically, we also had a very productive year, reporting 29% organic gross profit growth compared to 2018,” John Morris, Repay chief executive, said in a statement. “With the addition of Ventanex, which brings us significant growth opportunities in the mortgage-servicing and B2B healthcare markets, we now have a total annual projected payment volume opportunity of $2.3 trillion.”
Repay’s acquisition streak might not be halting. The company is eyeing potential acquisitions, Robert Napoli, an equities analyst with William Blair & Co. LLC, says in a research note. “Repay is actively reviewing acquisitions, despite somewhat elevated leverage,” Napoli says. “We believe leverage is manageable given its healthy cash-flow generation.”
Repay’s focus on enabling consumer payments for lending products also may boost the company’s footing. Repay’s lending clients want to make it easier for consumers to make their loan payments electronically, Napoli says. “In addition, in a market environment where prime lenders are likely to tighten credit standards, more borrowers may not qualify for prime loans and move into the nonbank market, Repay’s focus.”
For the fourth quarter, Repay had revenue of $33.6 million and a net loss of $13.5 million. For all of 2019, including the predecessor results and post-merger performance, Repay had revenue of $104.6 million and a net loss of $48.2 million
Its 2020 outlook is for card payment volume ranging from $15.5 billion to $16 billion.
