Deluxe Corp. reported a slight gain in third-quarter earnings Thursday, despite a revenue drop.
The St. Paul check printer said its earnings rose 3.2% from the same quarter last year, to $32.2 million, even though revenue fell 2.4%, to $388.6 million. Earnings per share rose 1.6%, to 62 cents.
Though consumers are writing fewer checks, Deluxe said its check businesses have stabilized.
Revenue from its financial services unit, which provides checks to banks, dipped 0.6%, to $113 million, and sales in its direct check unit fell 1%, to $49.8 million.
The company said that an ongoing cost-cutting effort helped it stay in the black. That effort is expected to cut $75 million of expenses in 2008 and 2009.
With its historical core business shrinking, Deluxe is transforming itself into a more diverse printing company. However, revenue from its small-business unit fell 3.5%, to $225.8 million, in part because Deluxe sold its industrial packaging product line in the first quarter.
