SAN ANTONIO – Harland Clarke, the nation’s largest check printer, yesterday reported its core check printing business continued to decline in the second quarter, with revenues falling 8% due to volume declines in check and related products and decreased revenues per unit.
For the first six months of the fiscal year revenues from the company’s checks business fell almost 9% as consumer continued to move toward electronic commerce.
As a result, the company, the product of the 2005 takeover of check printer Clark American and the 2007 takeover of the John H. Harland Co., reported a 4% decline in second quarter revenues to $405.7 million, and a 5% decline in first half revenues to $809.6 million.
Still, Harland Clarke, which also includes Harland Financial Solutions and Scantron, was able to increase net income to $33.2 million for the second quarter, due to a $13.2 million one-time gain on the sale of marketable securities. Net income for the first six months slid 6% to $56.5 million.
Harland Clarke is owned by M&F Worldwide, a diversified holding company controlled by Wall Street financier Ronald Perelman, who has offered to buy all of the company stock he does not own and take it private.
