CheckFree Soars On Second QuarterEarnings

ATLANTA - (01/26/06) – Shares of electronic billerCheckFree Corp. surged more 17% Wednesday after the companyreported a more than doubling of earnings for its fiscal secondquarter to $33.8 million, or 36 cents a share. Second quarterrevenues, fueled by transaction growth in the company’selectronic commerce unit, rose 16% to $215.9 million. For the firstsix months of the year, CheckFree reported a tripling of net incometo $60.1 million, or 65 cents a share, compared to the first halflast year. First half revenues were up 19% to $$31.7 million.CheckFree shares ended up almost 17% on the NASDAQ Wednesday at$51.79.