Researcher Predicts One Third Of U.S. POS Terminals To Accept Contactless Payment By 2016

Aug. 12, 2011

Recent developments in contactless payment technology are generating renewed interest, and suggest that the long-delayed dream of comprehensive contactless payment systems may finally be approaching reality. The introduction of Google Wallet and the expectation that several new NFC-enabled smartphones will reach consumer markets soon have created a sense of optimism.

According to ABI Research, in 2010 only about 10 percent of total POS terminal shipments included some form of contactless technology. While the analyst firm does not agree with some of the wilder media predictions for contactless POS growth – for example that within 12 months, one third of all terminals in the U.S. will accept contactless payments – it does forecast that 85 percent of terminals shipped worldwide will be contactless-enabled in 2016, driven by increased proliferation of contactless cards and especially, rapid adoption of NFC-enabled cell phones.

Senior analyst Craig Foster said in a prepared statement, “Contactless has the potential to change the way we pay for goods completely, significantly reducing time spent queuing at the point of sale. It also represents an almost perfect fit for the vending industry, because:

  • The increased speed and simplicity of check-out go hand-in-hand with the very essence of the vending machine – to provide goods quickly and conveniently;
  • The fact that small-value transactions – typically under $25 in the US – do not need to be authenticated by signature or PIN entry is very appealing to vending machine operators.”

M2M practice director Sam Lucero added, “Contactless technology is also in the very early stages of adoption in ATMs: rather than inserting the card, a customer waves it in front of the machine and enters a PIN.”

Ingenico, VeriFone, and Hypercom are the three leading vendors of POS terminals and command most of the market. VeriFone recently completed the acquisition of Hypercom after satisfying the antitrust concerns of the US Department of Justice. Contactless terminals have formed an increasingly significant part of Ingenico’s portfolio in recent years, accounting for a claimed 21% of the company’s shipments in 2010.

ABI Research’s “Cellular-enabled POS Terminals, ATMs, and Vending Machines” study (http://www.abiresearch.com/research/1003592) examines the overall market opportunity for each segment, with a particular focus on value chains, competitive landscapes, market adoption drivers and inhibitors, and technology issues.

?\ p`?? P? oNormal>The company continues to streamline operations as it progresses toward the spin off. The summary below provides an update on the decisions made to date.

On Aug. 9, the company announced a signed agreement to sell its North American refrigerated dough (Store Brands) business to Ralcorp for $545 million. The sale is expected to close by the end of calendar year 2011. This business was classified as a discontinued operation in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.

The sale of the North American Fresh Bakery to Grupo Bimbo is expected to close before the end of September.

Sara Lee decided in August to divest the Spanish bakery and French refrigerated dough businesses. For both, a sales process is underway and numerous bids have been received. These businesses will be reclassified to discontinued operations in the first quarter of fiscal 2012. The Australian frozen desserts business remains under strategic review.

The North American Retail segment reported a 4 percent increase in adjusted net sales to $715 million, primarily driven by pricing actions. The segment reported strong new product performance with growth from Jimmy Dean Jimmy D's and Hearty Crumbles, and Hillshire Farm Low Sodium and Family Size. Ball Park maintained its share leadership behind the successful introduction of New York Deli Style Beef Franks. These launches were more than offset by the negative volume impact from early pricing actions taken to offset commodity cost increases and the rationalization of lower margin promotional programs. Mix was marginally positive. On a reported basis, net sales declined 2 percent largely due to last year’s 53rd week.

Adjusted operating margins improved by 590 basis points over the prior year’s fourth quarter, increasing to 11.4 percent. Reported operating margin for the quarter was 10.1 percent. For the second straight quarter, commodity cost increases were recovered through cost savings initiatives and pricing actions. The net commodity recovery along with lower MAP spending (versus significant investment in the fourth quarter of last year) and a reduction in SG&A expense drove an adjusted operating segment income increase of $44 million versus last year. Reported operating segment income increased $32 million. The implementation of SAP across all meat plants is now complete and is expected to generate efficiencies and cost savings in fiscal 2012.

In the North American Foodservice segment, adjusted net sales increased 9 percent to $400 million, driven largely by pricing actions taken across the portfolio. This marks the second straight quarter of strong top-line growth in the segment. Reported net sales grew by 2.1 percent. Segment volumes were down as declines in roast and ground coffee and diversified bakery more than offset volume growth in meats, frozen bakery and liquid coffee. The segment posted particularly strong results for Jimmy Dean breakfast sausages, pre-sliced pies and cakes and branded meats distributed through convenience stores.

Adjusted operating segment income increased 37 percent driven by cost savings and strong business performance in meats, frozen bakery and liquid coffee. Adjusted operating margin expanded 100 basis points over the prior year to 5.0 percent driven by manufacturing efficiencies and favorable sales mix. This growth was achieved despite the loss of the low-volume, high-margin liquid coffee contract during last year’s fourth quarter. Reported operating segment income declined $6 million due to impairment charges and spin off related costs while the reported operating margin decreased 150 basis points to 0.1 percent.

Adjusted net sales of the international beverage segment increased 14 percent to $978 million in the fourth quarter. The increase was driven by pricing and sales mix of 17 percent and higher green coffee export sales from Brazil, partially offset by volume softness. The volume decline mainly reflects the multiple price increases that were put through in the majority of markets to offset commodity price increases. Price increases and cost savings are expected to have fully offset commodity price increases by the second quarter of fiscal 2012. Volumes were also impacted by a slight decline in the overall coffee market in the Netherlands and a deliberate choice to end private label production in France. Reported net sales increased 24 percent to $996 million.

L’OR EspressO continues to perform well in France and initial results from the Netherlands, Spain and Belgium are promising and reaffirm the growth potential of this product. L’OR EspressO capsules are now sold through more than 15,000 retail stores in Europe. In Brazil, Senseo was successfully launched in Rio de Janeiro following the promising results of the initial introduction of Senseo in São Paulo. The integration of Brazilian Damasco is ahead of plan, with better than expected synergies and growth. Australia successfully launched two new products, Piazza D’Oro and Moccona Café Classics Frappé, which helped to reach a record-high value share of 67 percent in the freeze-dried instant coffee segment. In Foodservice, the trend in machine placements picked up in the quarter and the recent successful roll-out of Cafitesse Excellence contributed to the positive momentum.

The international beverage business is making good progress in aligning its organizational structure with its future growth ambitions. As part of this process, the marketing and R&D functions are being redesigned to optimize the innovation process and allow for a faster product to market process.

Adjusted operating segment income decreased 13 percent to $121 million resulting in an adjusted operating margin of 12.4 percent which largely reflects the time lagging effect between commodity cost increases and subsequent price increase. MAP spending in the fourth quarter was below the significant investment in the prior-year period which in large part is attributable to last year’s launch of L'OR EspressO in France. On a full year basis, MAP investment was up 3 percent providing adequate support to the coffee and tea brands. Reported operating segment income declined 4 percent to $119 million.

Adjusted net sales for international bakery declined 8 percent to $182 million mainly due to difficult macro-economic and competitive conditions in Spain. Reported net sales declined 1 percent to $182 million.

Adjusted operating segment income was $13 million lower than the prior year while reported operating segment income declined $10 million. In Spain, further price reductions were required to maintain market share, which led to additional short-term margin pressure. Restructuring activities to transform the company’s sales force to independent operators are progressing as planned.

In the fourth quarter corporate expenses, excluding significant items, were $33 million lower than the prior-year period. For the full year, corporate expenses, excluding significant items, declined $94 million primarily attributable to the impact of headcount reductions, lower employee benefits costs, the sale of the company plane and a reduction in franchise taxes

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