Hypercom reports 4th-quarter profit, reversing year-ago loss; revenue slides

Hypercom posts 4Q profit, reversing loss

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Payment technology provider Hypercom Corp. posted a small fourth-quarter profit on Monday, reversing a year-ago loss that was weighed by an impairment charge.

The company earned $624,000, or 1 cent per share, compared with a loss of $74.8 million, or $1.40 per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned $4.6 million, or 8 cents per share, in the latest quarter.

Revenue slid 3 percent to $117 million from $121 million.

Analysts, on average, were expecting a profit of 9 cents per share, excluding items, on sales of $113 million, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

The company said its lower revenue was mainly from the Americas, partially offset by increases in revenue from Northern Europe and Asia.

For the full year, Hypercom posted a loss of $6.9 million, or 13 cents per share, compared with a loss of $85.4 million, or $1.60 per share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were 15 cents per share in 2009.

Revenue fell 6 percent to $407 million from $434 million.

Shares rose 5 cents to $3.65 in after-hours trading. The stock had closed up 13 cents, or 3.8 percent, at $3.60.