Fiserv Reports Earnings, Revenue Growth for Fourth Quarter and 2012 Overall

Fiserv, one of the largest U.S. providers of core processing solutions to banks, reported solid results for the fourth quarter and for 2012 in general. The company's GAAP revenue was $1.16 billion for the fourth quarter, $4.48 billion for the full year. GAAP earnings per share was $1.18.

In an upbeat earnings call last night, Fiserv President and CEO Jeff Yabuki projected that the bank's adjusted revenue will grow 10% in 2013, buoyed by its purchase of Open Solutions, a Connecticut-based rival with 3,300 clients. "Our go-forward platform is DNA [Open Solutions' core processing software]," he said, noting however that the company does plan to move some innovative features of its existing Acumen platform into DNA over time. "It's important to us to not have competing platforms in that space," Yabuki said, referring mainly to the credit union market its Acumen product serves.

Bill payment has been a source of strength for Brookfield, Wis.-based Fiserv (FISV). Its sales of bill payment services were greater in 2012 than in 2008, 2009 and 2010 combined; they also exceeded 2011 sales. "Our bill payment business is in the best position to have sustained revenue growth since our purchase of Checkfree in 2005," Yabuki said. Wells Fargo and Union Bank recently grew their bill payment relationships with Fiserv, as did Bank of America at the end of 2012.

Its person-to-person payment service, PopMoney, now has 14,000 customers, he noted; this is a market that could reach the millions over the next few years. The company's debit transaction business grew 15% for the year.

Yabuki sees the overall financial services technology market as stable, yet hampered with ongoing regulatory concerns. "We expect the modest growth of financial IT spending of 2012 will continue this year," he said. Tech spending will be devoted to solutions that drive revenue and innovation, he speculated.

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