ECHO has record quarter

ECHO has record quarter

Agoura Hills-based Electronic Clearing House, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECHO), a provider of electronic payment services, has reported financial and operating results for the three and nine months ended June 30.

Revenue for the third quarter of fiscal year 2003 was a record of nearly $10.6 million, an increase of 25.7 percent as compared to $8.4 million in the prior year quarter.

Operating income rose to $564,000, as compared to an operating loss of $143,000 in the same period last year. The year-over-year improvement can be attributed to the significant increase in bankcard and transaction processing revenue, reduction in research and development expenditures as the Visa Point-of-Sale (POS) Check Service program moved from beta testing to implementation, and elimination of $129,000 in amortization of goodwill.

The company reported net income of $308,000 or $0.05 per share on a fully diluted basis, in the quarter, as compared to a net loss of $168,000, or $0.03 per share in the third quarter of fiscal 2002.