ST. PAUL, Minn. Check printer Deluxe Corp. said continued growth in its small business services fueled a 7% rise in net income for the fourth quarter.
Fourth quarter net was $42.6 million, up from $39.8 million for the same period in 2011. For the full year net income was up 10.2% to $170.5 million.
Revenue was up 5.8% for the fourth quarter to $387.6 million, and by 6.8% for the full year to $1.5 billion.
Revenue for the company’s small business services segment was up 11% for the fourth quarter, while revenue for its core checks business continued to decline. Financial services, or checks sold to credit unions and banks, was down less than 1% to $82 million, while revenue for the direct checks business those sold directly to consumers was down by 7.2% to $51.1 million for the quarter. Revenue also was down for the full year for the company’s checks business, by 3% to $553.4 million.
