BISYS says it expects to earn less than expected in the first half of 2003. For the fiscal quarter ending March 31, BISYS anticipates reporting earnings per diluted share of $0.27, one cent lower than its previous guidance, and equal to that reported for the same period in fiscal 2002.
This reduction is due primarily to lower than anticipated insurance production in BISYS’s “high-end” insurance business during the latter part of the March quarter, as well as continued softness in the education services market. The company says its investment Services, Information Services, and core insurance business all generally performed according to expectations.
Dennis Sheehan, president and CEO, commented: “The overall modest internal growth that BISYS has experienced during the last several quarters continued during the March quarter and is expected to continue into our June quarter as well. Based upon current projections, we anticipate modest, sequential earnings growth for our fourth fiscal quarter, ending June 30, with earnings per diluted share ranging from $0.28 to $0.30.”
According to Sheehan, “New client signings have been extremely strong, especially in the Investment Services Group. We have signed contracts representing more than $25 million of annualized recurring revenue for Investment Services during the last 30 days, which are scheduled to convert to our platforms during our first quarter of fiscal 2004. Our Information Services Group also continues to generate record cross-sales, and sales of our core insurance services continues to be strong. This backlog, combined with lower year-to-year comparisons for our “high-end” insurance business, which had an exceptionally strong year in fiscal 2002 followed by a significantly lower fiscal 2003, give us comfort that fiscal 2004 internal revenue growth beginning in July should accelerate. We are looking forward to an improved fiscal 2004 and will provide additional information and insights during our April 23rd earnings call.”