AMSTERDAM - Adyen NV, the Dutch company that helps to process payments for Netflix, Facebook and Uber, on Thursday beat market expectations with a 65% jump in first-half core profit, citing higher volumes and strong growth in North America.

Adyen reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 272 million euros ($318 million), for the six months ended June 30, ahead of the 252 million euros forecast by analysts, Refinitiv data showed.

Net revenue rose 46% from the same period a year earlier to 445 million euros, also ahead of an analysts' forecast of 425 million euros.

Adyen confirmed its medium-term targets of a compounded annual growth rate of around 25%-30%.

Higher volumes at existing customers, such as McDonald's, accounted for most of its increase in volume, it said. Total Adyen volumes were up 67% to 216 billion euros from a year earlier.

"We are solidly executing our strategy in a space that is consistently buoyed by macroeconomic trends ... many of which were accelerated by COVID-19," Adyen said in a statement, citing the shift toward online retail and the declining use of physical cash.

The pandemic has also driven a change, likely to be lasting, in the way consumers collect the goods they buy as well as how they pay for them.

"Ordering ahead, curbside pick-up, and in-store purchases with self-service checkouts will continue to be part of our everyday reality," said Adyen, which also helps vendors handle payments in stores and online.

Shares were up 1% to 2,410 euros by 0713 GMT, and up 26% in the year to date.

  - Reuters