Fidelity National Info. Services Income Drops

Fidelity National Information Services Inc.'s (FIS) first-quarter net income fell 53 percent as a year-earlier gain and the stronger dollar made comparisons difficult for the information-technology company.

President and CEO Lee A. Kennedy warned yesterday that the company expected the challenging market conditions to continue throughout 2009. Still, Fidelity reaffirmed its earnings target of $1.60 to $1.66 a share.

Earlier this month, Fidelity strengthened its presence in the financial-information-technology market by acquiring Metavante Technologies Inc. (MV) in a stock deal valued at $2.9 billion, with Fidelity saying the deal would add to earnings in 2010. Major ratings agencies reacted positively to the news, as both companies have recurring revenue streams, which can help IT providers mitigate the recession.

Fidelity reported net income of $33 million, or 17 cents a share, down from $70.5 million, or 36 cents a share, a year ago. Net earnings from continuing operations rose to 18 cents a share from 6 cents, as the prior year's quarter included a $50 million gain from discontinued operations.
Excluding items, earnings rose to 31 cents a share from 26 cents.