News

Cardtronics reports losses in U.S., growth internationally

May 20, 2007

HOUSTON - Cardtronics Inc. pulled a 7.8 percent increase in first-quarter revenue, but on the profit side, it reported a net loss of $3.4 million - a loss 10 percent greater than what was reported in 1Q 2006.

The company attributed to net loss administrative costs and expenses associated with ongoing Triple DES ATM upgrades. Some expenses also were associated with Winn-Dixie Stores' reorganization after filing bankruptcy.

Revenue for the quarter came in at $74.5 million, up from the 69.1 million reported in 1Q '06. The revenue increase related to additional ATM deployments and higher-withdrawal transactions per ATM in the United Kingdom, Cardtronics said. And the company's subsidiary in Mexico also boosted income with additional deployments.

Those increases offset lower results in the United States.

Cardtronics' portfolio of transacting ATMs for the first quarter totaled 25,228, down 3.7 percent from 1Q '06. This decrease relates to a drop in U.S. ATM placements. Cash withdrawals were up 4 percent, hitting 31.2 million transactions because of increases in the U.K. and Mexico. Average revenue per ATM per month increased 12 percent to $947, up from $845 per machine during the same quarter in 2006.

"Our first quarter results were generally where we expected them to be," said Jack Antonini, Cardtronics' chief executive. "We expect 2007 to be a year of significant investment for Cardtronics, as we look to take advantage of what we believe are favorable trends in our key markets."

Domestically, Cardtronics is converting its company-owned ATMs over to its in-house transaction-processing switch to enhance performance. To date, more than 3,100 ATMs have been converted.

"This conversion effort, which is currently ahead of schedule, will ultimately allow us to offer advanced functionality and services on all of our domestic company-owned ATMs, and is critical to our strategic initiative to offer additional ATM solutions to financial institutions throughout the United States," Antonini said. "Internationally, we deployed over 300 ATMs in high-volume retail locations in the United Kingdom and Mexico during the quarter, further building on the strong foundations that we have created in those markets."

Cardtronics placed more than 130 new ATMs in the U.K. during the quarter and approximately 190 additional ATMs in Mexico, the majority of which were deployed under long-term deals with OXXO and FRAGUA.

To piggyback on the international growth, the company also announced during the quarter that it plans to expand its surcharge-free ATM network, Allpoint, into the U.K. sometime this summer.