Montreal-based payments provider Nuvei raised its full-year outlook Monday as it beat analysts’ expectations and reported that its payment volume more than doubled in the last year. Nuvei shares rose as high as $86.33 in early morning trading before closing at $81.41, a 0.67 per cent increase.

Here are some of the key numbers:

• Total volume rose to US$20.6 billion, a 48 per cent increase over the fourth quarter of 2020 and a 132 per cent increase year over year.
• Nuvei reported a US$27.8-million profit in the first quarter, compared with a US$62.3-million loss last year. 
• Revenue climbed 80 per cent, from US$83.2 million to US$149.9 million.
• The company increased its revenue forecast for the full year by US$40 million, to between US$610 million and US$640 million. 
• It raised its forecast for adjusted EBITDA in 2021 by US$12 million, to between US$264 million and US$277 million.

CEO Philip Fayer’s outlook: “Based on the momentum we’ve seen through early May, the depth in our sales pipeline, the introduction of new product capabilities and innovation and the expansion into new geographies, we have good visibility into the balance of the year and are raising our financial outlook for 2021. This exponential growth we’re experiencing is driven by a number of factors, including geographic expansion, product innovation, growing wallet share with our existing customers … all of which is supported by the natural tailwinds of the industries we serve.”

Thinking bigger: The results came at the end of a quarter in which Nuvei announced two acquisitions that would see the company expand its business into new areas. In April, Nuvei said it was buying Mazooma, a sports-wagering payments company, for US$56 million, and on Friday announced the acquisition of Simplex for US$250 million, a company that facilitates payments for people buying cryptocurrencies with debit and credit cards. 

Nuvei generates revenue by helping its customers process payments, taking fees on each transaction or as a percentage of payment volume, in addition to charges for other services like analytics and insights monitoring. It has more than 950 employees, according to its first-quarter investor presentation, and can provide services for nearly 500 different payment methods.

The firm’s expanding strategy to include cryptocurrencies as well as gaming and online betting comes as Nuvei tries to gain market share in a rapidly evolving fintech landscape. “We have to enable every type of payment,” Fayer said on the company’s earnings call. “We are just beginning to see the evolution of cryptocurrencies around the world.” As part of the Simplex acquisition, Nuvei will gain regulatory licences that will set the company up to offer banking and card-issuing services in the future. Similarly, the Mazooma purchase will give Nuvei money-transmitter licences in 47 U.S. states.

More, more, more: Nuvei doesn’t plan to stop there, however. Fayer said the company was looking at buying even more companies, prompting at least one analyst to question the company about its debt levels. “We’re having very interesting discussions, as we always do,” he said on the earnings call. Still, he added, “I think we have our hands full for the next few quarters.” Asked how much leverage Nuvei was willing to take on for acquisitions, Fayer said the company was still well below the “three times” ratio that it’s comfortable with. Nuvei had US$212.6 million in loans and borrowings as of March 31, the company’s financial disclosures show.

Growth in e-commerce: Despite Nuvei’s forays into new businesses, the vast majority of its business is still tied to e-commerce, which has benefited substantially from the pandemic. The share of Nuvei’s total volume from e-commerce rose from 72 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 to 87 per cent in Q1 2021, as merchants increasingly shifted online in the last year.