BROOKFIELD, Wis. – Fiserv yesterday said net income for its fourth quarter declined by 9% due to charges for divestitures and acquisitions, as well as higher interest expenses.
The back-office service provider reported net income of $96.7 million, or 58 cents per share, for the fourth quarter, down from $105.9 million, or 61 cents a share, for the same period in 2006. Fourth quarter revenues rose 19% to $1.11 billion.
Fiserv posted nearly $40 million in costs related to acquisitions, facility shutdowns and severance packages during the quarter. Its interest expenses increased by more than $25 million from the year-ago period. The company closed its $4.4 billion acquisition of CheckFree and disposed of CredStar, a mortgage-credit reporting unit, in December. It has sold or divested itself of other assets this year.
As a result, net income for the full year declined by 2.4%, to $439.3 million, or $2.60 a share, even while revenue was rising by 10%, to $3.92 billion, from the year before.
