MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- After watching its stock price drop about 30 percent during the past week, the board of directors of Memphis-based Concord EFS on Aug. 5 authorized the repurchase of up to $250 million of its shares, according to a report in the Memphis Business Journal.
"We believe the current general market conditions and the present market valuation of our stock makes our stock an attractive investment for Concord," said Dan M. Palmer, chairman and CEO of Concord, in a news release.
The company's stock began its slide July 30 after reporting that earnings per share slipped from 14 cents in 2001's second quarter 2001 to 12 cents for the second quarter of 2002. Those earnings were impacted by charges related to the acquisition of three firms -- The Logix Company, Core Data Resources and H&F Services -- during the first half of 2002. Concord's year-over-year revenue grew by 28 percent.
Excluding the one-time charges, net income and earnings per share were up 34 percent and 28 percent, respectively, versus the year-ago period.
The Core Data acquisition added 35,000 ATMs to Concord's ATM processing services. Concord now drives 93,800 ATMs for financial institutions and retailers nationwide, approximately one-fourth of the ATMs in the U.S.
