Cass information systems, inc. reports 1st
quarter 2014 earnings
St. louis--(business wire)--cass information systems, inc. (nasdaq: cass), the nation's leading provider of transportation, energy, telecom and environmental invoice payment and information services, reported first quarter 2014 earnings of $.50 per diluted share, a 4% decline from the $.52 per diluted share it earned in the first quarter of 2013. net income for the period was $5.8 million, compared to $6.0 million in 2013. 2014 1st quarter recap facility expense dollar volume* *includes energy, telecom and environmental cass posted modestly lower first quarter earnings despite strong growth of 11% in payment and processing fee revenue. the increase in processing activity and related fees was driven mainly by a large number of new customers added during the past year. this growth is key to future performance showing the continued acceptance of cass’ processing services. growth was across the board as both the transportation and facilities groups posted strong increases in transaction and revenue activity. those gains were offset by an 8% or $0.8 million drop in net investment income as historically low interest rates continue to erode the company’s net interest income. operating expenses increased by $0.6 million, or 3%, due to the continued expansion of the company’s global processing systems and new expanded operating facilities for its transportation and waste management operations. it also reflects continued investment in staff and technology to support current growth and future new business. “our transportation and facility expense invoice processing operations turned in strong performances and helped to partially overcome the earnings drag presented by the stagnant interest rate environment,” said eric h. brunngraber, cass president and chief executive officer. “we believe continued growth will allow us to overcome this rate environment and that we will be positioned for accelerated earnings growth when market conditions improve.” about cass information systems cass information systems is the leading provider of transportation, energy, telecom and environmental invoice payment and information services. the company, which has been involved in the payables services and information support business since 1956, disburses $35 billion annually on behalf of customers from locations in st. louis, mo., columbus, ohio, boston, mass., greenville, s.c., wellington, kansas and jacksonville, fla. the support of cass commercial bank, founded in 1906, makes cass information systems unique in the industry. cass is part of the russell 2000® index. note to investors certain matters set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that are provided to assist in the understanding of anticipated future financial performance. however, such performance involves risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in such statements. for a discussion of certain factors that may cause such forward-looking statements to differ materially from the company’s actual results, see the company’s reports filed from time to time with the securities and exchange commission including the company’s annual report on form 10-k for the year ended december 31, 2013. selected consolidated financial data the following table presents selected unaudited consolidated financial data (in thousands, except per share data) for the periods ended march 31, 2014 and 2013: quarter ended march 31, 2014 quarter ended march 31, 2013 -- --
