Concord EFS Earnings Rise

Growth is tempered by an acquisition-related charge.
By TSC Staff ,

Electronic-payment processor

Concord-EFS

(CE) - Get Report

said fourth-quarter earnings rose 12% from a year ago, as strength in all its business lines was partially offset by expenses related to its proposed takeover by

First Data

(FDC) - Get Report

.

Memphis, Tenn.-based Concord earned $93.1 million, or 20 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with earnings of $89.1 million, or 18 cents a share, last year. Sales rose 9% year over year to $592.1 million.

Excluding the acquisition expense, the company earned $98.6 million, or 21 cents a share. On that basis, analysts surveyed by Thomson One Analytics had been forecasting earnings 20 cents a share.

The company's gross margin was 29.17% in the most recent quarter, up 26 basis points from the year-ago period and up 87 basis points from the third quarter. It cited lower costs associated with processing electronic signatures and cost cuts.

Revenue in the company's payment services business rose 10%, to $423.3 million in the quarter from a year ago, while revenue in its network services segment rose 8%, to $168.8 million.

Concord-EFS' shareholders are scheduled to vote on the First Data transaction on Feb. 26.

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