Want to find NCR? Follow the money. Born during the waning days of the Wild West as National Cash Register, NCR is a leading maker of ATMs. The company also makes point-of-sale (POS) terminals, bar code scanners, and related printer consumables. Other retail and financial systems offerings include check image processing systems and self-service kiosks for hospitality, retail, and travel applications. NCR's services segment provides maintenance and support, as well as professional services such as systems integration and managed services. NCR, which facilitates more than 450 million transactions daily, does business in more than 180 countries. About 60% of its sales are generated outside the US.
Operations
The company's largest segment, financial services, represents about 50% of sales and includes ATMs and payment processing hardware and software. Its retail solutions segment accounts for about a third of total sales and includes POS terminals and bar-code scanners. The hospitality and emerging industries segments -- which include POS hardware and software for restaurants and sports/entertainment venues and products and services for the manufacturing, travel, and gaming industries, respectively -- bring in the remaining revenue.
Geographic Reach
The US is NCR's largest market, representing nearly 40% of sales, with the Americas as a whole contributing about 50%. Europe and the AMEA (Asia, Middle East, and Africa) region each account for about a quarter of revenue. The company saw growth across all regions, with double-digit growth in the Americas
NCR has manufacturing facilities in Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, Hungary, India, and the US.
Sales and Marketing
The company's products and services are marketed primarily through a direct sales force, although it does, to a lesser degree, utilize a network of distributors and resellers.
Financial Performance
NCR reported revenue of $6.1 billion in 2013, a 7% increase versus the prior year, marking the fourth consecutive year of rising sales for the company. Despite the rise in sales, net income fell 8% over the same period to $443 million on higher expenses. The rise in revenue was driven by double-digit growth in NCR's retail solutions and hospitality business segments, and a slight uptick in revenue from the emerging industries business. Retail solutions got a boost from the acquisition of Retalix early in 2013. Sales by NCR's financial services segment, the company's largest, fell 3% year over year. On a geographic basis, Asia Middle East Africa (AMEA) outperformed the Americas and Europe, posting an 11% gain in sales in 2013 versus 2012. Sales in the Americas and Europe rose 7% and 2%, respectively. NCR
Strategy
In a major strategic move, NCR in 2014 expanded in China via a partnership with Shanghai Anmao Information Technology Co. to put point-of-sale technology in retail outlets across the country. China, along with Brazil, India, and Russia, and key emerging markets for NCR.
NCR has been exiting certain businesses as part of a strategic decision to focus on its core customers -- financial services, retail, and hospitality -- while looking for expansion in vertical markets such as telecommunications and technology, as well as hospitality related verticals such as travel and casinos. Focusing on financial services, the company acquired Digital Insight Corp., a leader in online and mobile banking software, for $1.65 billion in early 2014. It also recently acquired Alaric Systems Ltd., a London-based software firm that provides secure transaction switching and fraud prevention, for about $84 million. Together, the Digital Insight and Alaric purchases extend NCR’s existing capabilities in the banking industry to form a complete enterprise software platform that will deliver across all digital and physical channels - mobile, online, branch, and ATM.
Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestments
In February 2013, NCR bought the Israeli retail software provider Retalix Ltd. for $791 million. In December 2013, it acquired Alaric Systems Ltd. for about $84 million. Alaric makes secure transaction switching and fraud prevention software. In January 2014, NCR purchased California-based Digital Insight Corp., a provider of online and mobile banking products, for $1.65 billion.
NCR keeps a lookout for acquisitions that can help it expand the scope of its products. In 2012 it acquired Transoft International, a developer of cost optimization software for financial institutions and retailers. The deal was made to strengthen NCR's selection of cash management applications. Early the following year it bought Utah-based uGenius, which makes video banking software.
The company's hospitality segment was created from the purchase of Radiant Systems in 2011 for $1.2 billion. NCR built on that the following year with the acquisitions of POS Integrated Solutions, a reseller of the NCR Aloha application for restaurants, and Wyse Sistemas de Informática Ltda., a developer of hospitality software. The Wyse deal also boosted the company's presence in the fast-growing Brazilian market.
In 2012 NCR sold its entertainment business (DVD kiosks) to Redbox, which has more than 30,000 kiosks across the US, for $100 million. The deal also involved Redbox purchasing products and services from NCR. Also that year NCR sold its healthcare operations to QuadraMed, but has partnered with QuadraMed as a reseller of hardware and self-service products for check-in and identification management.