Total System Services Matches

Total System Services Inc. (TSS - Snapshot Report) reported earnings from continuing operations of 29 cents per share, matching the Zacks consensus Estimate.

Total revenues were $432.3 million, a 4.9% increase over the second quarter of 2009. Compared to last year, total revenues were down 1.6%, which included an unfavorable impact of $10.3 million from foreign currency exchange rates during the quarter.

TSS completed the sale of TSS Total Debt Management, a subsidiary company, and recognized a one-time loss in discontinued operations of $3.3 million in the quarter, or approximately 1 cent per share.

TSS' third quarter operating margins excluding reimbursable items increased sequentially by 87 basis points, and income from continuing operations increased by 10.1%. This was a result of expense management, new business added and a slight increase in transactions.

There was sequential quarterly growth across the board in revenues, operating income and net income despite the challenging economic environment.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $333 million, taking the total cash and equivalents to $420 million. Cash accumulation during these tough economic times is part of the company’s to build a large capital base to deploy in support of its strategic plans. Long-term debt was at $47 million while shareowner’s equity was $1.12 billion.

Total Systems Services Inc. is one of the world's largest companies for outsourced payment services, offering a broad range of issuer- and acquirer-processing technologies that support consumer-finance, credit, debit, healthcare, loyalty and prepaid services for financial institutions and retail companies. It provides electronic payment processing and related services to financial and non-financial institutions.