NEWS WRAP: First Data Earnings Fall, Revenue Up 3%
By STEVE GELSI
July 15, 2005 8:44 a.m.
NEW YORK -- First Data Corp. (FDC) on Friday reported lower second-quarter net income as the owner of Western Union booked expenses from its acquisition of Concord EFS.
First Data's profit was $391.9 million, or 50 cents a share, down from $466 million, or 53 cents, earned in the same period in 2004.
The Denver-based provider of electronic-commerce and payment services generated revenue of $2.61 billion, up 3% from $2.53 billion in the year-ago second quarter.
The latest quarter's profit included integration expenses of 4 cents a share related to its purchase of Concord EFS as well as 2 cents of other charges, the company said.
Analysts, on average, had been looking for earnings of 57 cents a share on revenue of $2.7 billion, according to a survey of brokers by Thomson First Call.
CEO Charlie Fote called First Data's quarterly results "strong."
The company also said that operating profit fell 7% to $561 million, from $603.3 million.
First Data said it repurchased 7.9 million common shares during the latest quarter.
Shares of First Data added 28 cents to end Thursday's trading at $41.14. |
