Total Systems 4Q profit falls as transaction revenue slips; co. cuts outlook, sees staff cuts

Total Systems 4Q profit falls 9 percent

COLUMBUS, Ga. — Credit card transaction processor Total Systems Services Inc. said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter earnings fell 9 percent as it collected less revenue from its electronic payment processing services.

The company also issued 2010 guidance lower than Wall Street forecasts and said it would take actions to aggressively reduce costs, including staff cuts.

The company, also known as TSYS, reported net income of $60.2 million, or 31 cents per share, down from $66.3 million, or 34 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. The company cited factors including a lower number of cardholder transactions for the smaller profit.

Revenue totaled $434.8 million, up slightly from $432.7 million, in the 2008 fourth quarter.

TSYS’s earnings beat the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who expected 30 cents per share. They expected revenue of $435.1 million.

But the company’s 2010 per-share profit outlook of between 95 cents to 97 cents was below analyst predictions of $1.21 per share. TSYS also projected $1.62 billion to $1.65 billion in revenue, lower than analysts’ expectation of $1.75 billion.

For all of 2009, TSYS earned $215 million on revenue of $1.69 billion.

Company shares fell $2.01, or 12 percent, to $14.80 in after-hours trading, after closing at $17.01 in the regular session.