Global Payments Inc. announced results for the first quarter ended August 31, 2005. For the first quarter, revenue grew 17% to $224.5 million compared to $192.6 million in the prior year. Excluding restructuring charges in the current quarter, net income grew 29% to $31.3 million compared to $24.2 million in the prior year quarter, and diluted earnings per share grew 24% to $0.77 compared to $0.62 in the prior year quarter.
In accordance with GAAP, current period net income and diluted earnings per share include restructuring charges of $0.9 million ($0.6 million, net of tax) primarily relating to employee termination benefits. First quarter GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share were $30.7 million and $0.76, respectively. These charges relate to the planned consolidation of an operating center, which was announced during fiscal 2005. The company expects to incur additional restructuring charges of approximately $2 million during fiscal 2006 related to the completion of this plan.
Chairman, President and CEO, Paul R. Garcia, stated, “We are very excited about our recently announced Asia-Pacific joint venture with HSBC and look forward to capitalizing on the future growth opportunities of this region. We are also very pleased to begin our new fiscal year with strong first quarter financial results. Our robust growth this quarter was driven by our North American direct merchant channels, primarily due to re-pricing initiatives in Canada, ISO growth in the U.S., and a favorable Canadian currency exchange rate. In addition, we are delighted with the performance of our consumer money transfer channel and our Central and Eastern European operations, as they continue to achieve solid revenue growth. Based on our results, we are raising our fiscal 2006 annual revenue guidance to a range of $855 million to $883 million, or 9% to 13% growth versus $784 million in fiscal 2005. We are also raising our fiscal 2006 annual diluted earnings per share guidance to a range of $2.74 to $2.86 for growth of 15% to 20% versus $2.39 in fiscal 2005, excluding restructuring and other items ($2.33 in fiscal 2005 on a GAAP basis).”