Yesterday, Total System Services Inc. (TSS) reported fourth quarter as well as full-year earnings for fiscal 2009.
 
Quarterly Results
 
The company also known as TSYS earned 31 cents per share from continuing operations in the fourth quarter as opposed to 34 cents in the year-ago quarter. The decline in quarterly profit was mainly attributable to a drop in revenues from electronic payment processing services. Furthermore, the quarterly earnings was below the Zacks consensus Estimate by a penny. The fall in quarterly profit led to a drop in the company’s share price by over 12% in after market trade. TSYS had closed the day at $17.01 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company reported $434.8 million total revenues for the quarter, up 0.5%. However, total revenues for the fourth quarter of 2009 were $430.9 million, which reflected a 0.4% decrease over the year-ago quarter on a constant currency basis.

Segment-wise, fourth quarter revenues from the electronic payment processing services declined by 3.2% to $239.79 million from $247.74 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenues from the merchant acquiring services division climbed 1.1% to $70.42 million from $69.64 million in the year-ago period while revenues from other services witnessed a 4.1% increase to $52.52 million from $50.46 million in the year-ago period. Revenues from reimbursable items accounted for the balance.

TSYS  reported a 0.2% decline in total operating expenses, which came in at $341.55 million as opposed to $342.30 million a year-ago.

Yearly Results
 
For the full year 2009, TSYS earned $1.12 from continuing operations, which was below the year-ago earnings by 14 cents but above the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny.
 
The company reported total revenues for 2009 of $1.69 billion as opposed to $1.72 billion in 2008, down 2%. However, total revenues for 2009 increased by 0.8% to $1.73 billion on a constant currency basis.
 
Guidance for 2010
 
TSYS also provided guidance for 2010. The company expects to earn between 95 cents to 97 cents in the year from continuing operations, which is below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.20. TSYS expects revenues between $1.62 billion to $1.65 billion in 2010. Management revealed that it expects to reduce its workforce in 2010 to cut costs.

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