Falling demand for paper checks drove down first-quarter earnings at the check printer Deluxe Corp.
The St. Paul company said Thursday that its net income fell 22.4% from a year earlier, to $27.3 million. Revenue fell 5.6%, to $331.2 million.
The financial services unit's revenue rose 0.4%, to $113.9 million, but the Direct Check unit's revenue fell 12.1%, to $51.4 million, "due to the continued decline in check usage and advertising response rates," Deluxe said.
Earnings per share of 53 cents met Wall Street's expectations but were down from 68 cents in last year's first quarter.
Deluxe has tried to diversify in recent years as consumers and businesses use fewer checks. Revenue for its small-business printing services unit fell 6.9%, to $215.9 million.
Deluxe attributed that decline to poor overall economic conditions and the sale of a unit in January 2007, which drove up revenue in the year-earlier quarter.
