(Reuters) - Franco-Dutch technology firm Gemalto NV (AS:GTO) said its third-quarter revenue rose 6 percent on a constant currency basis, helped by strong sales of chip-enabled credit cards.
The company, which makes chips used in mobile phones and payment cards as well as readers, reiterated its annual goal of double-digit expansion in profit from operations for the full year as well as an acceleration of year-on-year revenue growth at constant exchange rates for the second half of the year.
Third-quarter revenue was 626 million euros($791.70 million) on a constant currency basis, helped by growth in EMV payment cards, above average analyst expectations for revenue of 661 million euros.
EMV is a fraud-reducing technology built into payment cards with a smart chip.
Gemalto's payment and identity products revenue grew by 12 percent to 289.2 million euros, on a constant currency basis.
Chief Executive Olivier Piou said in a statement that Gemalto's EMV revenues in the United States tripled and Asia grew by 18 percent, adding that the company's pace of growth accelerated during the third quarter.
The group reaffirmed its profit forecasts for the years ahead that it made in August along with the announcement of the acquisition of U.S.-based data protection specialist SafeNet for $890 million.
Gemalto reaffirmed that the deal should allow it to raise its 2017 target for profit from operations of 600 million euros by 10 percent, despite tough competition from Apple Inc's (O:AAPL) installation of in-device payment and SIM cards in its tablets.
Apple's announcement that it would install its own SIM cards in new tablets sold in the United States dragged Gemalto shares down as much as 10 percent this week as investors worried that Gemalto could be squeezed out of crucial SIM card revenue.
For the time being, Apple has only announced plans to roll out its in-device SIM-card system in the United States, which would not threaten a substantial portion of Gemalto revenue. A launch in Europe could prove more challenging, however.
The drop followed previous share price declines as Apple unveiled partnerships with Visa Inc (N:V) and MasterCard Inc (N:MA) allowing it to handle online payment transactions directly on its devices, without having to use authentication services provided by Gemalto and other firms.
(Reporting by Aurindom Mukherjee in Bangalore & Nicholas Vinocur in Paris; Editing by Leslie Adler)