John H. Harland Co. said Thursday that expenses related to its pending sale drove down its fourth-quarter results.
The Atlanta banking technology vendor and check printer reported that revenue was down 0.6%, to $263.8 million, compared with the year earlier, and that net income plunged 34.7%, to $13.6 million. Earnings per share of 52 cents compared with 75 cents a year earlier.
Harland said that it spent $12.6 million, or 34 cents per share, in the fourth quarter preparing for its acquisition by M&F Worldwide Corp., a New York holding company that also owns the No. 3 check printing company, Clarke American Corp. The deal was announced in December and is expected to close in the second half.
The company also took a charge of $3.5 million, or 14 cents per share, for its decision to shutter its printed product business in Mexico, which is now listed as a discontinued operation. This hit was partially offset by a tax credit of 9 cents per share.
For all of 2006, Harland reported a revenue gain of 7.5%, to $1.05 billion, compared with 2005. Full-year net income fell 9.8%, to $68.1 million, and earnings per share came in at $2.55, compared with $2.69 the year before. Again, the company said that fourth-quarter expenses were the main reason for the earnings weakness.
