Deluxe Q1 Results Beat View, Lifts Full Year Adj. Earnings, Revenue Forecast

(RTTNews) - Business services firm Deluxe Corp. (DLX) said first-quarter net income increased to $47.3 million from $45.9 million. Earnings per share grew to $0.93 from $0.89.

Adjusted earnings per share were $0.98, while it totaled $0.91 last year. On average, 4 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.95 per share. Analysts estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenue improved to $407.0 million from $387.6 million. Analysts expected revenues of $402.33 million.

The company attributed the strong earnings performance to higher than expected revenue in the Direct Checks segment and a slightly lower effective tax rate.

For the second quarter, the company expects adjusted earnings of $0.94 to $0.99 per share and revenues in the range of $393 million to $401 million. Analysts look for earnings of $0.97 per share on revenues of $395.83 million.

For full year, adjusted earnings per share are now expected to be $3.97 to $4.12, compared to the previous projection of $3.90 to $4.10.

GAAP earnings per share are estimated in the range of $3.90 to $4.05, compared to the previous projection of $3.90 to $4.10.

Revenue is now projected to be $1.620 billion to $1.650 billion. The prior outlook was for revenue of $1.610 to $1.650 billion.

Full year earnings are estimated to be $4.00 per share on revenues of $1.64 billion.