Wright Express Reports First Quarter 2009 Financial Results

Wright Express Corporation (NYSE: WXS), a leading provider of payment processing and information management services to the U.S. commercial and government fleet industry, today reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2009.

Total revenue for the first quarter of 2009 decreased 26% to $69.2 million from $92.9 million for the first quarter of 2008. Net income to common shareholders on a GAAP basis was $11.0 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, compared with $14.5 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, for the comparable quarter a year earlier. On a non-GAAP basis, the Company’s adjusted net income for the first quarter of 2009 was $16.3 million, or $0.42 per diluted share, compared with $17.4 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, for the year-earlier period. In addition to previously excluded items, adjusted net income for the first quarter of 2009 excludes a non-cash asset impairment charge of $421,000 related to internally developed software costs, as well as adjustments to the deferred tax asset and related tax-receivable agreement with the Company’s former parent company.

Wright Express uses fuel-price derivative instruments to mitigate financial risks associated with the variability in fuel prices. For the first quarter of 2009, the Company’s GAAP financial results include an unrealized $6.5 million pre-tax, non-cash, mark-to-market loss on these instruments. For the first quarter of 2008, the Company reported an unrealized pre-tax, non-cash, mark-to-market loss of $3.6 million.

Exhibit 1 reconciles adjusted net income for the first quarters of 2009 and 2008, which has not been determined in accordance with GAAP, to net income as determined in accordance with GAAP.

Management uses the non-GAAP measures presented within this news release to evaluate the Company’s performance on a comparable basis, to eliminate the volatility associated with its derivative instruments and to measure the amount of cash that is available for making payments on the Company’s financing debt and for discretionary purposes. Management believes that investors may find these measures useful for the same purposes, but cautions that they should not be considered a substitute for disclosure in accordance with GAAP.

First Quarter 2009 Performance Metrics

• Average number of vehicles serviced increased 6% from the first quarter of 2008 to approximately 4.7 million.
• Total fuel transactions processed declined 2% from the first quarter of 2008 to 63.3 million. Payment processing transactions decreased 7% to 49.3 million, and transaction processing transactions increased 21% to 14.0 million.
• Average expenditure per payment processing transaction decreased 38% from the first quarter of 2008 to $40.78.
• Average retail fuel price declined 39% to $2.00 per gallon from $3.26 per gallon in the first quarter of 2008.
• Total MasterCard purchase volume grew 23% to $649 million, from $526 million for the first quarter of 2008.

To provide investors with additional insight into its operational performance, Wright Express has included in this news release a table of selected non-financial metrics for the five quarters ended March 31, 2009. This table is presented as Exhibit 2.

Management Comments on the First Quarter

"This was a very positive quarter for Wright Express, as we exceeded our guidance for both revenue and adjusted net income,” said Michael Dubyak, Chairman and CEO. "Although we did see the year-over-year erosion in fleet transaction volume that we expected, our collections experience improved significantly in the quarter. As a consequence, fleet credit loss fell back to within the Company’s historic range, significantly improving our results this quarter.”

"At the front end of the business, we continued to perform well in acquiring new customers,” Dubyak said. "In addition, our first-quarter performance metrics reflected the full impact of the federal GSA Fleet portfolio that we added in the fourth quarter of 2008. In the aggregate our MasterCard, TelaPoint, Pacific Pride and WEXSmart telematics businesses continued to grow in the first quarter both in terms of dollars contributed and as a percentage of the overall top line compared to the first quarter of 2008. These businesses have clearly helped Wright Express weather the economic storm this past year by continuing to grow at a time when our fleet customer base activity was contracting.”

"We will continue to consider additional opportunities to diversify our top line and strengthen our business, and are well-positioned with excellent liquidity as we do so,” said Dubyak. "Our business model continues to generate significant cash flow, which enabled us to pay down $34 million in debt this quarter, further reinforcing the Company’s exceptionally strong balance sheet.”

"Wright Express is performing well at a very challenging time because of a unique combination of strengths,” Dubyak said. "These include front-end sales growth: increasingly diversified revenue; low attrition rates overall; strong capital structure, liquidity and cash flow; a promising international business; as well as upside from our fuel hedging strategy. We look forward to further capitalizing on these advantages as the year unfolds.”

Financial Guidance

Wright Express Corporation is issuing financial guidance for the second quarter and raising guidance for the full year 2009. In preparing this guidance, management continues to assume 10% to 15% year-over-year declines in transaction volume within the Company’s installed base of customers due to weak economic conditions. The guidance below further assumes that credit loss for the full year 2009 will range from 25 to 35 basis points. The guidance below does not reflect the impact of any stock repurchases that may occur in 2009.

In addition, the Company’s guidance excludes the impact of non-cash, mark-to-market adjustments on its fuel-price-related derivative instruments, the amortization of purchased intangibles, and adjustments related to the deferred tax asset and related tax-receivable agreement with the Company’s former parent company. The fuel prices referenced below are based on the applicable NYMEX futures price:

• For the second quarter of 2009, the Company expects revenue in the range of $66 million to $72 million. This is based on an assumed average retail fuel price of $2.14 per gallon.
• For the second quarter of 2009, the Company expects adjusted net income in the range of $15 million to $17 million, or $0.38 to $0.43 per diluted share, based on approximately 39 million shares outstanding.
• For the full year 2009, the Company expects revenue in the range of $277 million to $287 million. This is based on an assumed average retail fuel price of $2.10 per gallon.
• For the full year 2009, the Company expects adjusted net income in the range of $59 million to $67 million, or $1.50 to $1.70 per diluted share, based on approximately 39 million shares outstanding.

Conference Call Details

In conjunction with this announcement, Wright Express will host a conference call today, April 29, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). The conference call will be webcast live on the Internet, and can be accessed at the Investor Relations section of the Wright Express website, www.wrightexpress.com. The live conference call also can be accessed by dialing (877) 407-5790 or (201) 689-8328. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Company's website for approximately three months.

About Wright Express

Wright Express is a leading global provider of payment processing and information management services. Wright Express captures and combines transaction information from its proprietary network with specialized analytical tools and purchasing control capabilities in a suite of solutions that enable fleets to manage their vehicles more effectively. The Company’s charge cards are used by commercial and government fleets to purchase fuel and maintenance services for approximately 4.7 million vehicles. Wright Express markets its services directly to fleets and as an outsourcing partner for its strategic relationships and franchisees. The Company’s business portfolio includes a MasterCard-branded corporate card as well as TelaPoint, a provider of supply chain software solutions for petroleum distributors and retailers, and Pacific Pride, an independent fuel distributor franchisee network, as well as international subsidiaries. For more information about Wright Express, please visit www.wrightexpress.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding: continuing consideration of additional opportunities to diversify top-line revenue; strengthening the Company’s business; the Company’s liquidity position; cash flow generation; prospects for international business; and, upside from the fuel hedging strategy. These forward-looking statements include a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including: volatility in fuel prices; second quarter and full year 2009 fueling patterns; risks related to customer and counterparty bankruptcies and credit failures; changes in interest rates; the effect of the Company’s fuel-price-related derivative instruments; effects of competition; the potential loss of key strategic relationships; decreased demand for fuel and other vehicle products and services and the effects of general economic conditions on the commercial activity of fleets; the Company’s ability to rapidly implement new technology and systems; potential corporate transactions including alliances, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; achievement of the expected benefits of the Company’s alliances, mergers and acquisitions; and the other risks and uncertainties included from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the annual report on Form 10-K filed on February 27, 2009, and the Company’s other periodic and current reports. Wright Express Corporation undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements at any future date or dates.

Although adjusted net income is not calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this measure is integral to the Company’s reporting and planning processes. The Company considers this measure integral because it eliminates the non-cash volatility associated with the derivative instruments, excludes the amortization of purchased intangibles, excludes a non-cash asset impairment charge and the net impact of tax rate changes on our deferred tax asset and related changes in the Avis tax-receivable agreement. 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:

• Exclusion of the non-cash, mark-to-market adjustments on derivative instruments helps management identify and assess trends in the Company’s underlying business that might otherwise be obscured due to quarterly non-cash earnings fluctuations associated with fuel-price derivative contracts;
• The non-cash, mark-to-market adjustments on derivative instruments are difficult to forecast accurately, making comparisons across historical and future quarters difficult to evaluate;
• The amortization of purchased intangibles and asset impairment have no impact on the operations of the business; and
• The impact of tax rate changes on the Company’s deferred tax asset and related Avis tax-receivable agreement largely offset each other and have no impact on the operations of the business.

For the same reasons, Wright Express 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 as determined in accordance with GAAP. In addition, adjusted net income as used by Wright Express may not be comparable to similarly titled measures employed by other companies.

Definitions:

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

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

Payment processing $ of fuel represents the total Dollar value of the fuel purchased by fleets that have a payment processing relationship with Wright Express.

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

MasterCard purchase volume represents the total dollar value of all transactions that use a Wright Express MasterCard branded product.

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