Card Briefs: Echo's Loss Widened To $600K in Fiscal '96

Electronic Clearing House Inc., a point of sale systems and transaction processing company, reported a net loss for its fiscal year of $599,000 on $14.3 million of revenue.

The loss amounted to 5 cents a share and was up from a loss of $176,000, or 2 cents, in the year that ended Sept. 30, 1995.

Electronic Clearing House, known as Echo, attributed the latest red ink to a $70,000 increase in interest expenses and to research and development costs incurred for a pilot program for the U.S. Postal Service.

Echo said its loss on operations expanded to $184,000 from $137,000.

Fiscal 1995 revenue was inflated by $327,000 from settlement of a lawsuit.

"Processing revenues increased 44% to $3.6 million, and this growth is continuing," said chief executive officer Joel M. Barry.

"Our equipment sales were less than in fiscal 1995, but this segment of our business is cyclical; and with the recent $1.5 million order from U- Haul and the Postal Service terminal sales expected in fiscal 1997, we are seeing some positive trends."

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER