BROOKFIELD, Wis. -- Fiserv, Inc. (Nasdaq: FISV), a provider of integrated data processing and information management systems to the financial industry, reported record earnings of $591.1 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2002, a 16 percent increase over the $507.4 million for the 2001's fourth quarter.
Net income per diluted share (excluding realized gains from sale of investment) for the fourth quarter of 2002 was 35 cents per share, compared to 27 cents per share for the fourth quarter of 2001.
For the year, Fiserv revenues (excluding customer reimbursements) were $2.2 billion, an 18 percent increase over the $1.9 billion in 2001.
Net income per diluted share (excluding realized gains from sale of investment) for the year was $1.36 per share, compared to $1.07 per share for 2001.
Leslie M. Muma, Fiserv president and chief executive, noted in a news release that the company closed five acquisitions in 2002, which added combined annualized revenues of more than $210 million and over 1,100 new employees. Among the acquisitions was EDS' Consumer Network Services unit, one of the nation's largest EFT processors and ATM operators.
"For 2002, our sales efforts generated more new banking, lending, securities and insurance relationships than the prior year. We foresee continued strength in our sales pipelines and acquisition opportunities across all of our major business lines as we begin 2003," said Muma in the release.
Fiserv's earnings per share target for 2003 (before any realized gains from sale of investment) is $1.58 to $1.62 per share, according to the release.
Among the significant deals of 2002: CITIC Industrial Bank, China's sixth largest bank with $36 billion (U.S.) in assets, selected Fiserv core banking and customer service products through a Fiserv partnership with IBM China. While Fiserv has been active in the Asia-Pacific region for more than a decade, this agreement marks the company's entry into the Chinese domestic banking market, according to the release.
