For the second quarter, revenues grew 30 percent to US$401.1 million compared to US$308.8 million in the prior year. Diluted earnings per share grew 25 percent to US$0.60 compared to US$0.48 in the prior year quarter.

These results include the unfavorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates during the period, and as such, the company added a schedule (Schedule 9) this quarter to provide revenue and diluted earnings per share growth on a constant currency basis for both the quarter as well as the outlook for fiscal 2009. On a constant currency basis, revenues grew 37 percent and diluted earnings per share grew 39 percent over the prior year quarter.

Comments and Outlook

Chairman and CEO, Paul R. Garcia, stated, "We are pleased with our strong second quarter financial performance, in spite of the difficult macro environment. Our results for the quarter were driven by the favorable impact of our June 30, 2008 U.K. acquisition and strong results in our North America segment. North America continues to benefit from successful pricing initiatives in Canada as well as a solid 16 percent transaction growth in the U.S."

"Based on the significant strengthening of the U.S. dollar this quarter, and the related translation impact, we are updating our annual revenue guidance to a range of US$1,550 million to US$1,580 million, or 22 percent to 24 percent growth over fiscal 2008. We are also modifying our annual diluted earnings per share guidance to a range of US$2.14 to US$2.21, or 8 percent to 12 percent growth versus US$1.98 in fiscal 2008 (see Schedule 6 for details). Our fiscal 2009 guidance excludes the impact of any future restructuring and other charges, as well as the impact of future acquisitions, such as our announced agreement to acquire ZAO United Card Service in the Russian Federation."

"We remain committed to our long-term growth strategy, and the fundamentals of our business model remain strong. This is underscored by our constant currency outlook for diluted earnings per share growth of 21 percent to 25 percent for fiscal 2009, which is consistent with the constant currency outlook we provided last quarter," said Garcia.

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