First Data reports 16% profit drop in 2Q

First Data reports 16% profit drop in 2Q
Tags: Bank / Credit Union, EFT Networks, Public Companies, Transaction Processing
July 17, 2005

Reuters: First Data Corp., the world's largest electronic commerce and payment service, on July 15 said second-quarter profit fell 16 percent, missing expectations. The Denver-based company blamed acquisition-related charges for the loss.

First Data, which owns Western Union and the STAR network and serves about 4.1 million merchant locations and 1,400 card issuers, said net income fell to $391.9 million, or 50 cents a share, from $466 million, or 53 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue in the second quarter rose 3 percent to $2.6 billion, falling short of analysts' expectations of $2.7 billion.