PayPal posts third quarter revenue of $2.26 billion, hit by strong USD

PAYPAL- PayPal Holdings Inc. reported third quarter revenue of $2.26 billion, up 14 percent, but just shy of Wall Street expectations.

According to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, analysts expected revenue of $2.27 billion.

A strong US dollar affected transaction volumes in Europe and China and had a much bigger impact on revenue than expected.

Net profit for the quarter was $301 million, or 25 cents a share.

It was the first solo financial report since PayPal split from eBay earlier this year.

The company said that it had 173 million active user accounts in the quarter, up from 157 million in the same period last year.

Transactions per active account rose 12 percent, total payment volume (TPV) increased 27 percent to $70 billion and mobile transactions rose 38 percent to 345 million.

Daniel H. Schulman, chief executive of PayPal, said in a statement:

“We are operating in a time when change is sweeping through the financial services industry, driven by the rise of mobile technology and the acceleration of money becoming digital.

“These two massive trends play directly to our strengths and we are leveraging this transformation to extend and accelerate our lead.”

For fiscal 2015, PayPal expects earnings per share between $1.23 to $1.27, compared to what analysts expect of $1.25 per share.]

Shares in the San Jose, Calif.-based company dropped 5.6 percent in extended trading hours on Wednesday after it announced the quarterly results.