ACI Worldwide declines as Q4 revenue falls
Shares of ACI Worldwide Inc. (Nasdaq: ACIW) have fallen to a new 52-week low on news before the start of trading that the software maker suffered a decline in fourth-quarter revenue, according to preliminary results.
The New York-based company, whose software processes electronic payments for financial institutions, reported that revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was about $84.7 million, a decrease of 4%, compared with revenue of $88.2 million a year earlier. Four analysts polled by Thomson Financial were looking for revenues of $99.98 million.
The decline was partially due to an 8.1% rise in operating expenses, which came to $92.6 million from $85.7 million in the same quarter of 2006. ACI Worldwide said the extra expenses were related to the settlement of a lawsuit and acquisition costs.
The company, which has 2,100 employees and customers in 83 countries, also announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM). ACI Worldwide will deploy its software to enhance the security of payments for financial clients, while IBM will assist ACI with software enablement and marketing and sales.
“We are delighted to launch this transformational alliance with IBM,” said CEO Philip Heasley in a statement. “The partnership provides ACI with an opportunity to extend our reach among the world’s top 2,000 banks.”
The company said that it has not yet completed its financial closing process in the area of income taxes and can’t currently provide information about its net income.
At 2:09 p.m. ET, shares of ACI Worldwide (ACIW) had retreated $4.22, or 18%, to $19.29. The previous 52-week low of $20.65 was set Sept. 20, while the 52-week high of $38.72 was touched on Feb. 14.
