First Data meets Q2 forecasts

Total segment revenue was $1.8 billion for the quarter, up 3% versus the prior year period, or up 5% excluding the impacts from currency and the divestiture of the Australian ATM business that occurred at the end of the third quarter of 2016.

Net income attributable to First Data for the second quarter of 2017 was $185 million, or $0.20 per diluted share. This represents a 22% increase from the second quarter of 2016 net income of $152 million, or an 18% increase in net income per diluted share from $0.17 in the prior year period.

Adjusted net income, which modifies net income for items such as debt extinguishment charges, stock-based compensation, amortization of acquisition intangibles, restructuring costs and other items, was $378 million, or $0.40 per diluted share. This represents a 17% increase from the second quarter of 2016 adjusted net income of $323 million, or a 14% increase in adjusted net income per diluted share from $0.35 in the prior year period. The increase was primarily driven by improved operating results and lower interest expense.

Total segment earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (total segment EBITDA) in the second quarter 2017 was $786 million, up 5% versus the prior year period, or up 7% excluding impacts from currency and the Australian ATM divestiture. Total reported segment EBITDA margin improved 100 basis points to 42.5% in the quarter.

“The second quarter delivered record quarterly revenue and earnings as we continue to see good new business momentum and improved customer retention across our business segments,” said First Data Chairman and CEO Frank Bisignano. “As we enter the latter half of 2017, we are focused on initiatives to continue the momentum across our global businesses, maintaining an appropriate balance between investing and managing costs, while also driving improved cash flow. We reiterate our full-year 2017 and medium-term financial guidance," Bisignano added.

Segment Results

Global Business Solutions(GBS)

Second quarter 2017 GBS segment revenue was $1.1 billion, up 3% versus the prior year period, or up 5% excluding the impacts from currency and the Australian ATM divestiture. Within geographic regions, North America revenue of $826 million was up 1% versus the prior year period as growth in non-JV revenue was partly offset by an anticipated decline in JV revenue. EMEA revenue was $140 million, flat versus the prior year, or up 6% excluding currency impacts, primarily driven by growth in the United Kingdom and Germany. Latin America revenue was $64 million, up 56%, or up 60% excluding currency impacts, driven by strong results in Brazil and Argentina. APAC revenue was $36 million, down 12%, or up 13% excluding impacts from currency and the Australian ATM divestiture, primarily driven by growth in India.

Second quarter 2017 GBS segment expenses were $583 million, down 1% versus the prior year period, or up 1% excluding the impacts from currency and the Australian ATM divestiture.

Second quarter 2017 GBS segment EBITDA was $483 million, up 8% versus the prior year period, or up 9% excluding impacts from currency and the Australian ATM divestiture. Segment EBITDA margin improved 210 basis points to 45.3% in the quarter.

Global Financial Solutions(GFS)

Second quarter 2017 GFS segment revenue was $402 million, up 2% versus the prior year period, or up 4% excluding currency impacts. Within geographic regions, North America revenue of $233 million was down 1%, as growth in processing revenue was more than offset by a decline in card personalization revenue. North America GFS card accounts on file grew 6% year over year. EMEA revenue was $110 million, up 2%, or up 10% excluding currency impacts, primarily driven by internal growth and new business primarily in the United Kingdom. Latin America revenue was $34 million, up 10%, or up 14% excluding currency impacts, driven by growth in Argentina and Colombia. APAC revenue was $25 million, up 25%, or up 24% excluding currency impacts, primarily driven by growth in Australia.

Second quarter 2017 GFS segment expenses were $235 million, flat versus the prior year period, or up 2% excluding currency impacts.

Second quarter 2017 GFS segment EBITDA was $167 million, up 4% versus the prior year period, or up 7% excluding currency impacts. Segment EBITDA margin improved 100 basis points to 41.5% in the quarter.

Network & Security Solutions(NSS)

Second quarter 2017 NSS segment revenue was $381 million, up 4% versus the prior year period. Stored Value revenue grew low-double digits, Security and Fraud revenue grew low single digits, and EFT revenue was flat.

Second quarter 2017 NSS segment expenses were $201 million, up 1% versus the prior year period.

Second quarter 2017 NSS segment EBITDA was $180 million, up 8% versus the prior year period. Segment EBITDA margin improved 180 basis points to 47.2% in the quarter.

Cash Flow

In the second quarter 2017, cash flow from operations was $580 million, up $58 million compared to $522 million in the prior year period. Free cash flow, which the Company defines as cash flow from operations less capital expenditures, distributions to minority interests and other, was $448 million in the current quarter, up $140 million compared to $308 million in the prior year period, primarily driven by lower cash interest payments and improved operating results.

Capital Structure

Total borrowings at June 30, 2017 were reduced to $18.3 billion, from $18.5 billion at December 31, 2016. Net debt at June 30, 2017 declined $304 million to $17.9 billion, from $18.2 billion at December 31, 2016.

As previously disclosed, in April 2017, the Company closed on a new term loan totaling $4.2 billion with an interest rate of LIBOR plus 250 basis points maturing in April 2024. The proceeds of the term loan were used to redeem a $4.2 billion term loan with an interest rate of LIBOR plus 300 basis points maturing in March 2021.

In June 2017, the Company closed on a new term loan totaling $3.8 billion with an interest rate of LIBOR plus 225 basis points maturing in July 2022. The proceeds of the term loan were used to redeem $3.8 billion of U.S. and euro-denominated term loans with interest rates ranging from LIBOR plus 300 basis points to LIBOR plus 325 basis points.

On June 28, 2017, the Company entered into an amendment to its Receivable Financing Agreement. The amendment increased the borrowing capacity of the facility from $240 million to $600 million, reduced the interest rate from LIBOR plus 200 basis points to LIBOR plus 150 basis points, and extended the termination date from January 2019 to June 2020.

The aggregate annualized cash interest savings derived from the above transactions is approximately $50 million.

CardConnect Acquisition

As previously disclosed, on July 6, 2017, the Company announced the successful completion of First Data's tender offer to purchase the outstanding shares of CardConnect Corp. common stock. CardConnect's results will be consolidated in the results of First Data's GBS business as of July 6, 2017.

Divestiture

On July 25, 2017, First Data entered into an agreement to divest all of its businesses in the Baltics (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) for €73 million (approximately $85 million). The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2017. The businesses were reported within the GFS segment.

Innovation

First Data continues to invest in innovation to differentiate itself as a leader in commerce-enabling solutions. Below are examples of innovative solutions that the company introduced during the second quarter:

Clover Flex - First Data's latest addition to the Clover family can be used as a handheld device or on the countertop. Clover Flex is fully integrated into the Clover platform and can accept PIN entry, NFC, mag stripe, EMV and electronic gift cards. Flex is perfect for the service-based merchant that wants to take the checkout experience to the customer.
Local Payments - First Data's new online payments solution that powers cross-border global commerce around the world. Local Payments allows merchants to manage up to 195 local payment options online through a single interface.
Global PFAC - First Data's solution for payment facilitators around the globe allows a payment facilitator to achieve global scale through a single integration interface. Global PFAC enables payment facilitators to easily authorize transactions in more than 150 currencies worldwide, and settle in 17 currencies, as well as providing a robust range of other services.
Business Activity Monitor - First Data's new operational monitoring solution for issuing clients, which enables financial institutions to easily access and monitor their customers' transaction activity and track the operational health of their portfolios in real-time.
Fraud Detect - First Data's latest comprehensive solution to help merchants around the world detect fraudulent activity. Fraud Detect uses artificial intelligence and machine learning, fraud scoring, cybersecurity intelligence, and information from the dark web to help merchants detect fraudulent in-store, at the pump, online, mobile and in-app transactions before they occur.