Brazil's StoneCo posts adjusted profit beat in third quarter

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian payments firm StoneCo posted on Tuesday a 35% increase in its third-quarter adjusted net profit from a year earlier, beating analysts' estimates.

StoneCo, which also owns software and credit businesses, reported an adjusted net profit of 587 million reais ($101.7 million) for the quarter ended in September, above the 555 million reais expected by analysts in an LSEG poll.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

StoneCo, which is listed in New York, is one of Brazil's largest payment firms.

BY THE NUMBERS

StoneCo's total revenue reached 3.4 billion reais in the quarter, in line with estimates and up 7% year-on-year. Total payment volume (TPV) for micro-, small- and medium-sized companies, the firm's main business, rose 20%.

Adjusted earnings before taxes (EBT) increased 35% from a year earlier to 733 million reais.

WHAT'S NEXT

StoneCo also confirmed it had hired advisers to explore its options regarding its software business, though it said it had not established a deadline for any kind of deal.

Reuters reported in September, citing sources, that StoneCo had hired banks to sell software unit Linx.

($1 = 5.7724 reais)

(Reporting by Andre Romani and Patricia Vilas Boas in Sao Paulo; Editing by Kylie Madry)