DST Systems posts 7.4 percent earnings jump

Kansas City-based DST Systems Inc. reported a 7.4 percent jump in first quarter earnings Thursday.

It earned $107.8 million, or $2.87 a share, in part from selling investments including 1.1 million shares of publicly trade State Street Corp. A year ago, DST had earned $100.4 million, or $2.37 a share, also in part from investment sales.

The company said that, ignoring investment proceeds and other one-time items, earnings were $52.6 million in the quarter, up from $47.5 million in the first three months of last year.

Revenues in the recent quarter totaled $702.3 million, up 9.9 percent from a year ago. The company provides services to mutual fund groups, processes pharmacy benefits claims and otherwise offers services to various industries.

DST has been selling investments, such as stock holdings, real estate and private equity holdings. These sales generated $102.9 million, including $81.6 million from the State Street shares, in the quarter.

Shares of DST were down 71 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $115.64 in morning trading. The decline generally surprised analysts who had expected earnings to be slightly less than reported.

David Koning, with Baird Equity Research, called DST’s first quarter results “solid” with better than expected profit margins and earnings, in a note to clients.

This story was originally published April 23, 2015 at 9:52 AM with the headline "DST Systems posts 7.4 percent earnings jump."