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Metavante Technologies Inc. today reported net income of $35.1 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, down 30% from $50.2 million for the same period last year. The Milwaukee-based parent of the NYCE electronic funds transfer network and transaction processor Metavante Corp. reported revenue of $424.5 million, up 4% from $406.9 million. Expenses for the quarter were $341.7 million, up 6.5% from $320.8 million last year. Metavante's Payment Solutions Group earned $256.9 million in revenue during the quarter, up 7% from $240.4 million last year. The group's operating income was $82.1 million, up 11% from $74 million last year. Asked during a conference call with analysts how recessionary economic conditions might affect Metavante's operations in the coming months, Frank Martire, president and CEO, noted that most of the payments Metavante processes for financial institutions are drawn from demand-deposit accounts using the automated clearinghouse system or from PIN-debit and ATM transactions switched through NYCE. "Even in a little bit of an economic downturn, or even a large economic downturn, what we've seen in the past is that debit is more for necessity purchasing and not for luxury goods," Martire said. "We've seen debit remain very, very strong throughout the year. And we actually expect that to stay relatively strong through the end of the year." Metavante's merchant business processes both credit and debit card payments, however, and the company does not expect credit transactions to be as "robust" in the fourth quarter as in previous years.
