Fiserv, Inc., the provider of financial services technology solutions, reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2009. Total GAAP revenue in the fourth quarter was $1.06 billion compared with $1.04 billion in 2008. Total adjusted revenue increased 2% to $1.01 billion in the quarter compared with $984 million in 2008. Total GAAP revenue for the year was $4.08 billion compared with $4.59 billion in 2008. Total adjusted revenue for the year decreased 1% to $3.87 billion compared with $3.89 billion in 2008.
GAAP earnings per share from continuing operations for the fourth quarter were $0.83 compared with $0.50 in 2008. Total GAAP earnings per share, including discontinued operations, were $0.76 for the fourth quarter compared with $0.39 in 2008. GAAP earnings per share from continuing operations were $3.04 for the year compared with $2.20 in 2008. Total GAAP earnings per share, including discontinued operations, were $3.06 for the year compared with $3.49 in 2008.
Adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations in the fourth quarter increased 6% to $0.94 compared with $0.89 in 2008. For the year, adjusted earnings per share increased 10% to $3.66 compared with $3.33 in 2008. Adjusted internal revenue grew 2% in the fourth quarter and declined 1% for the year.
Fourth Quarter Highlights
Adjusted internal revenue growth was 2 percent in the quarter, including 2 percent growth in the Payments segment. The Payments segment generated more than 50 percent of the company’s adjusted revenue in the quarter and the full year;
Free cash flow increased 11% in 2009 to a record $668 million;
Company-wide adjusted operating margin increased 110 basis points in 2009 to 28.7% for the year, and declined 20 basis points to 28.1% in the quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2008. The decline in the adjusted operating margin in the quarter was primarily related to an increase in the amount of the company’s discretionary profit sharing accrual compared to 2008;
Adjusted operating margin in the Payments segment increased 170 basis points in 2009 to 31.7% and 80 basis points to 32.1% in the quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2008, primarily due to growth in higher-margin revenue and continued operational efficiencies associated with the CheckFree acquisition;
The Financial segment operating margin increased 190 basis points in 2009 to 29.3% and 90 basis points to 28.5% in the quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2008, primarily due to favorable business mix, ongoing cost efficiencies and strength in the account processing business;
The company continued to expand its payments footprint by signing 113 electronic bill payment clients in the quarter and 407 clients for the year. The company also added 51 debit clients in the fourth quarter, for a total of 215 new clients in 2009;
The company completed the previously announced dispositions of its Loan Fulfillment Solutions business and the final portion of the Fiserv ISS business in the fourth quarter of 2009;
For the fifth time in the last six years, Fiserv was ranked number one on the FinTech 100 by IDC Financial Insights, American Banker and Bank Technology News;
The company repurchased 1.1 million shares of its common stock in the quarter and 4.1 million shares in 2009. The company also repaid $140 million of debt in the quarter and $475 million in 2009;
The number of accounts using the market-leading Investment Services APLSM platform topped three million for the first time in its history.
D.C.