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First Data Reports Fourth Quarter 2015 Financial ResultsFirst Data Corporation (NYSE: FDC), a global leader in commerce-enabling technology and solutions, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2015. Consolidated revenue for the fourth quarter was $3.0 billion, up 3% versus the prior year period, or up 5% excluding currency impacts. Segment revenue, which modifies consolidated revenue for pass-through items and other impacts, was $1.8 billion for the quarter, up 2% versus the prior year period, or up 4% excluding currency impacts. Fourth quarter constant currency Segment revenue growth was 5% excluding the net impact of the GBS EMEA portfolio sale in the prior year period, an adverse difference in the year over year timing of security software revenue, and a benefit from a change in contract terms for a client in the NSS segment in the fourth quarter of 2015. For the fourth quarter 2015, the net loss attributable to First Data was $1.2 billion, which compares to net income of $12 million in the prior year period. The decline was driven by debt extinguishment charges and one-time IPO-triggered expenses which totaled $1.3 billion in the fourth quarter. 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 non-normal course items, was $299 million, up $110 million or 58% versus the prior year period, driven by improved operating results and lower interest expense. For the fourth quarter 2015, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Adjusted EBITDA) was $762 million, up 7% versus the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA margin improved 200 basis points to 41.6% in the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA benefited in the quarter by $11 million from gains on the revaluation of U.S. dollar denominated assets and liabilities in Argentina, and $8 million from the previously mentioned change in contract terms for a NSS client. As a result of capital market transactions announced since September 30, 2015, the Company reduced its average borrowing costs from approximately 7.3% at September 30th, 2015 to approximately 5.5% at current interest rates, and reduced its annualized cash interest expense by $0.5 billion to approximately $1.0 billion. "During a quarter that saw First Data return to public ownership, we were pleased to post continued revenue growth, solid margin expansion, and the refinancing of all our high cost debt earlier than planned," said Frank Bisignano, First Data Chairman and CEO. "We expect 2016 to be a year focused on the execution of our growth initiatives and continued expense management," Bisignano added. Among recent highlights for First Data, beyond significant capital structure improvements, were the release of its Clover Go point-of-sale device, and continued progress on expense management initiatives which included consolidation of real estate. In addition, First Data continues to see wins with large enterprise clients across all three segments. Segment Results Global Business Solutions (GBS) provides retail point-of-sale merchant acquiring and eCommerce services, next-generation offerings such as mobile payment services, as well as the company's cloud-based Clover® point-of-sale operating system and its marketplace of proprietary and third-party business apps. Approximately 78% of GBS revenue is generated in North America and approximately 13% is generated in EMEA. Segment revenue for the fourth quarter 2015 was $1.0 billion, down 1% versus the prior year period, or up 2% on a constant currency basis. GBS constant currency revenue growth was adversely impacted by 2 percentage points by the non-recurrence of the previously mentioned EMEA portfolio sale in the prior year period and an adverse difference in the year over year timing of fourth quarter security software revenue. Within geographic regions, fourth quarter 2015 North America revenue of $802 million was flat versus the prior year period as increased product sales and 6% transaction growth were offset by a lower blended yield, and the timing difference in security software revenue which adversely impacted GBS North America revenue growth by approximately one percentage point. EMEA revenue was $144 million, down 7%, or up 3% on a constant currency basis, driven by 14% transaction growth, partially offset by the non-recurrence of the portfolio sale that benefited the prior period by $12 million. Fourth quarter 2015 GBS adjusted expenses were $603 million, down 2% versus the prior year period, aided by a $7 million benefit from gains on the revaluation of U.S. dollar denominated assets and liabilities in Argentina during the quarter. Fourth quarter 2015 Segment EBITDA was $436 million, flat versus the prior year period which included the $12 million benefit from the EMEA portfolio sale. Segment EBITDA margin for the fourth quarter was 42.0%, up 50 basis points versus the prior year period. Global Financial Solutions (GFS) provides credit and retail private-label card processing, output services and next-generation offerings, such as its VisionPLUS Flex software, which enables card issuers to manage all of their payments-related products and services as a single, integrated "one-stop-shop" solution. Approximately 59% of GFS revenue is generated in North America and approximately 29% is generated in EMEA. Fourth quarter 2015 Segment revenue was $394 million, up 1% versus the prior year period, or up 5% on a constant currency basis. Within geographic regions, North America revenue of $234 million was up 9% primarily due to growth from new business, internal growth and increased card personalization volume due to EMV demand. North America GFS card accounts on file grew 14% year over year. EMEA revenue was $117 million, down 10%, or down 2% on a constant currency basis, as internal growth was offset by lower blended yield. Fourth quarter 2015 GFS adjusted expenses were $232 million, down 4% versus the prior year period, aided by a $4 million benefit from gains on the revaluation of U.S. dollar denominated assets and liabilities in Argentina during the quarter. Fourth quarter 2015 Segment EBITDA was $162 million, up 8% versus the prior year period. Segment EBITDA margin for the fourth quarter was 41.1%, up 270 basis points versus the prior year period. Network & Security Solutions (NSS) provides a wide range of network services such as Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Network Solutions, Stored Value Network Solutions, and Security and Fraud Management Solutions. Nearly all of NSS revenue is generated in North America. Fourth quarter 2015 segment revenue was $398 million, up 11% versus the prior year period. Revenue growth in the quarter was primarily driven by transaction growth in EFT Network Solutions, growth in merchant security solutions and increased stored value volume. Stored value revenues also benefited by $10 million from a change in contract terms for one client. Fourth quarter 2015 NSS adjusted expenses were $207 million, up 4% versus the prior year period, driven by increased cost of goods associated with revenue growth and investment in certain products. Fourth quarter 2015 Segment EBITDA was $191 million, up 19% versus the prior year period. Segment EBITDA margin for the fourth quarter was 48.0%, up 340 basis points versus the prior year period. Cash Flow In the fourth quarter 2015, the company generated $108 million in cash flow from operations, down $328 million versus the prior year period. Free cash flow, which the company defines as cash flow from operations less capital expenditures and distributions to minority interests, was $(116) million in the current quarter, down $331 million versus the prior year period. The declines in both measures were driven by $349 million of accelerated cash interest payments related to the debt pay downs and refinancing activity during the quarter, and a one-time cost triggered by the IPO. The company finished the quarter with approximately $1.4 billion in unrestricted liquidity. Improvements to Capital Structure In October 2015, First Data raised approximately $2.8 billion from issuing approximately 176,000,000 shares of Class A common stock. On November 18, 2015, First Data issued $3.4 billion in senior unsecured notes with an interest rate of 7.0%. The proceeds of these notes, together with net proceeds from the initial public offering and borrowings under the senior secured revolving credit facility, were used to redeem all of the outstanding 12.625% senior notes due 2021, all of the outstanding 10.625% senior notes due 2021, and all of the outstanding 11.75% senior subordinated notes due 2021, along with fees and expenses. The new notes mature in December 2023. On November 25, 2015, First Data issued $1.0 billion in first lien senior secured notes with an interest rate of 5.0% and $2.2 billion in second lien senior secured notes with an interest rate of 5.75%. The proceeds of these notes were used to redeem all of the outstanding 8.25% second lien notes due 2021 and all of the outstanding 8.75% second lien notes due 2022 ($250 million was redeemed in December 2015 and $750 million was redeemed in January 2016), along with fees and expenses. The new notes mature in January 2024. In November 2015, First Data also replaced the Company's $1.5 billion senior secured term loan facility due March 2017 with incremental term loans of $1.25 billion and €200 million due July 2022 with an interest rate of LIBOR plus 375 basis points. On December 31, 2015, First Data entered into an accounts receivables securitization program. On January 14, 2016, the Company borrowed $240 million securitized by accounts receivable of certain subsidiaries at a rate of LIBOR plus 200 basis points. Non-GAAP Measures In certain circumstances, results have been presented that are non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) measures and should be viewed in addition to, and not in lieu of, the company's reported results. These non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the most comparable GAAP measures. Non-GAAP financial measures reflect an additional way of viewing aspects of our operations that, when viewed with our GAAP results and the reconciliation to the corresponding GAAP financial measures, provide a more complete understanding of our business. Investors are strongly encouraged to review our financial statements and publicly-filed reports in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA further adjusted to exclude certain items and other adjustments and is used by management as a measure of operating performance. The company believes that the inclusion of supplementary adjustments to EBITDA applied in presenting Adjusted EBITDA are appropriate to provide additional information to investors about certain material non-cash items and about non-recurring items that the company does not expect to continue at the same level in the future. Adjusted Net Income, a measure used by management to measure operating performance, is not a recognized term under GAAP and does not purport to be an alternative to net income (loss) attributable to First Data as a measure of operating performance or to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity. Additionally, Adjusted Net Income is not intended to be a measure of free cash flow available for management's discretionary use as it does not consider certain cash requirements such as interest payments, tax payments and debt service requirements. Management believes that Adjusted Net Income is helpful in highlighting trends because Adjusted Net Income excludes the results of items that may mask underlying trends in the business. Because not all companies use identical calculations, this presentation of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. Certain measures in this release are presented excluding the estimated impact of foreign currency changes (constant currency). To present this information, monthly results in the current period for entities reporting in currencies other than United States dollars are translated into United States dollars at the average exchange rates in effect during the corresponding month of the prior fiscal year, rather than the actual average exchange rates in effect during the current fiscal year. Once translated, each month in the period is added together to calculate the constant currency current period results. Reconciliations to comparable GAAP measures are available in the accompanying schedules and in the "Investor Relations" section of the company's website at investor.firstdata.com. Investor Conference Call The company will host a conference call and webcast on Wednesday, February 10, 2016, at 8 a.m. EST to review the fourth quarter 2015 financial results. To listen to the call, dial +1 (800) 708-4540 (U.S.) or +1 (847) 619-6397 (outside the U.S.); passcode 41578957, at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. The call will be webcast on the "Investor Relations" section of the First Data website at investor.firstdata.com and a slide presentation to accompany the call will also be available on the website. A replay of the call will be available through February 24, 2016, at +1 (888) 843-7419 (U.S.) or +1 (630) 652-3042 (outside the U.S.); passcode 41578957 and via webcast at investor.firstdata.com. Please note: Other than the replay, First Data has not authorized, and disclaims responsibility for any recording, replay or distribution of any transcription of this call. About First Data First Data is a global leader in commerce-enabling technology and solutions, serving approximately six million business locations and 4,000 financial institutions in 118 countries around the world. The company's 23,000 owner-associates are dedicated to helping companies, from start-ups to the world's largest corporations, conduct commerce every day by securing and processing more than 2,300 transactions per second and $1.9 trillion per year.
Notice to Investors, Prospective Investors and the Investment Community; Cautionary Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain matters we discuss in our public statements may constitute forward-looking statements. You can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "intends," "plans," "estimates," or "anticipates" or similar expressions which concern our strategy, plans, projections or intentions. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, all statements we make relating to revenue, EBITDA, earnings, margins, growth rates and other financial results for future periods. By their nature, forward-looking statements: speak only as of the date they are made; are not statements of historical fact or guarantees of future performance; and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions or changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict or quantify. Actual results could differ materially and adversely from our forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including the following: (1) adverse impacts from global economic, political, and other conditions affecting trends in consumer, business, and government spending; (2) our ability to anticipate and respond to changing industry trends, including technological changes and increasing competition; (3) our ability to successfully renew existing client contracts on favorable terms and obtain new clients; (4) our ability to prevent a material breach of security of any of our systems; (5) our ability to implement and improve processing systems to provide new products, improve functionality, and increase efficiencies; (6) our merchant alliance program which involves several alliances not under our sole control and each of which acts independently of the others; (7) credit and fraud risks in our business units and merchant alliances, particularly in the context of eCommerce and mobile markets; (8) consolidation among financial institution clients or other client groups that impacts our client relationships; (9) our ability to improve our profitability and maintain flexibility in our capital resources through the implementation of cost savings initiatives; (10) our ability to successfully value and integrate acquired businesses, including those outside of the United States; (11) our high degree of leverage; (12) adverse impacts from currency exchange rates or currency controls imposed by any government or otherwise; (13) changes in the interest rate environment that increase interest on our borrowings or the interest rate at which we can refinance our borrowings; (14) the impact of new laws, regulations, credit card association rules, or other industry standards; and (15) new lawsuits, investigations, or proceedings, or changes to our potential exposure in connection with pending lawsuits, investigations or proceedings, or changes to our potential exposure in connection with pending lawsuits, investigations or proceedings, and various other factors set forth in Risk Factors in our Prospectus, dated October 14, 2015, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b).
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