ATLANTA, April 2 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Global Payments Inc.
(NYSE: GPN) today announced results for its third quarter ended February 28, 2007. For the third quarter, revenue grew 16 percent to $260.4 million compared to $225.2 million in the prior year. Excluding the impact of current period stock option expense, diluted earnings per share grew 22 percent to $0.44 compared to $0.36 in the prior year quarter.
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For the nine months ended February 28, 2007, revenue grew 17 percent to $781.4 million compared to $669.3 million in the prior year period. Excluding the impact of current period stock option expense and prior year restructuring charges, diluted earnings per share grew 27 percent to $1.43 from $1.13 in the prior year period.
In accordance with GAAP, year-to-date prior period diluted earnings per share include certain restructuring charges (see attached reconciliation schedule) relating to an operating center consolidation, which was announced in July 2005. Additionally, both the current quarter and year-to-date periods include the recognition of stock option expenses as a result of the company's June 1, 2006 adoption of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123(R) using the modified prospective method. For the three and nine months ended February 28, 2007, GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.42 and $1.34, respectively, compared to $0.36 and $1.12, respectively, in the prior year periods.
Comments and Outlook
Chairman, President and CEO, Paul R. Garcia, stated, "Our merchant services segment delivered solid financial results for our fiscal 2007 third quarter. This segment's revenue growth was primarily driven by expansion in our domestic ISO channel, as well as the favorable impact from our July 2006 addition of our Asia-Pacific joint venture with HSBC. Additionally, our merchant services results benefited from certain card association incentives relating to various programs implemented in our Canadian channel, as anticipated. Finally, our consumer money transfer segment met our near-term expectations, which reflect the continued unfavorable impact of a competitive domestic pricing environment and the year-over-year impact of strong results in our prior year quarter."
"Based on our results, we are updating our annual fiscal 2007 revenue guidance to a range of $1,050 million to $1,057 million. This revenue guidance reflects an expected 16 percent growth versus $908 million in fiscal 2006. In addition, we are updating our annual fiscal 2007 diluted earnings per share guidance to a range of $1.85 to $1.87, excluding the impact of stock option expenses as a result of our adoption of FAS 123R, for an expected growth of 20 percent to 21 percent versus $1.54 in fiscal 2006. (1) Including the impact of these stock option expenses, our annual fiscal 2007 diluted earnings per share guidance is $1.74 to $1.76. These earnings per share ranges also exclude the impact of potential restructuring and other charges," said Garcia.
Conference Call
Global Payments will hold a conference call today, March 30, 2007 at 10:30 a.m. ET to discuss financial results and business highlights. The conference call may be accessed by calling 1-888-791-2132 (U.S.) or 1-517-623-4000 (internationally) and using a pass code of "GPN" for both numbers, or via Web cast at www.globalpaymentsinc.com. A replay of the call will be available on the Global Payments Web site through April 13, 2007.
Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) is a leading provider of electronic transaction processing services for consumers, merchants, Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs), financial institutions, government agencies and multi-national corporations located throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific. Global Payments offers a comprehensive line of processing solutions for credit and debit cards, business-to-business purchasing cards, gift cards, electronic check conversion and check guarantee, verification and recovery including electronic check services, as well as terminal management. The company also provides consumer money transfer services from the U.S. and Europe to destinations in Latin America, Morocco and the Philippines. For more information about the company and its services, visit www.globalpaymentsinc.com.
(1) Fiscal 2006 diluted earnings per share was $1.53 on a GAAP basis, which includes restructuring charges equivalent to $0.01 in diluted earnings per share.
This announcement and comments made by Global Payments' management during the conference call contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not historical facts, including revenue and earnings estimates and management's expectations regarding future events and developments, are forward looking statements and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Among the important factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated by such forward-looking statements include the following: continued certification by credit card associations, foreign currency risks, competition, pricing, product demand, market and customer acceptance, development difficulties, the effect of economic conditions and consumer spending, security breaches or system failures, costs of capital, changes in state, federal or foreign laws and regulations affecting the consumer electronic money transfer industry, increases in credit card association fees, utility or system interruptions, the ability to consummate and integrate acquisitions, and other risks detailed in the company's SEC filings, including the most recently filed Form 10-Q or Form 10-K, as applicable. The company undertakes no obligation to revise any of these statements to reflect future circumstances or the occurrence of unanticipated events.
