FIS raises 2024 profit forecast above estimates on strong consumer spending

(Reuters) - Banking and payments processing conglomerate Fidelity National Information Services raised its annual adjusted profit forecast above Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, benefiting from resilient consumer spending.

The company also beat second-quarter profit estimates as consumer spending grew on hopes the U.S. economy would manage a soft landing, escaping a recession despite a tighter monetary policy to curb inflation.

Separately, the company's board approved a new $3 billion share repurchase, which FIS expects to complete by the end of 2024.

FIS now expects annual adjusted profit between $5.03 and $5.11 per share, higher than its previous forecast of $4.88 to $4.98 and analysts' estimate of $4.96, as per LSEG data.

It also forecast higher-than-expected third quarter adjusted profit at $1.27 to $1.31 per share, compared with LSEG estimates of $1.26.

For the second quarter ended June 30, FIS reported $754 million in adjusted net income from continuing operations, or $1.36 per share, compared with $454 million, or 76 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts had expected a profit of $1.23 per share.

Revenue from the banking solutions business, which offers core processing and transaction processing software to financial institutions, rose 3% from a year earlier to $1.71 billion in the quarter.

(Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)