The operator introduces the FIS First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call and hands over to George Mihalos, Senior Vice President and Head of Investor Relations. Stephanie Ferris, CEO and President, will begin with a strategic and operational update, followed by James Kehoe, CFO, who will review the financials. The call will contain forward-looking statements and non-GAAP information will be presented. Stephanie reports that 2024 is off to a strong start.

The company is performing well financially and exceeding expectations, thanks to their Future Forward strategy. They are confident in achieving their 2024 outlook and have seen strong growth in new sales. They are also increasing their share repurchase target and considering strategic acquisitions. They will be hosting an Investor Day tomorrow to showcase their corporate strategy and medium term financial targets.

In the third paragraph of the article, James Kehoe discusses the company's performance in the first quarter, highlighting a 3% growth in adjusted revenue, a 200 basis point expansion in EBITDA margin, and a 53% increase in adjusted EPS. He also mentions the company's debt and leverage ratio, as well as their share repurchase target of $4 billion for the year. Kehoe notes that the company generated free cash flow of $95 million, but this was negatively impacted by temporary factors such as delayed tax payments and timing of reimbursements from Worldpay.

The company's free cash flow conversion was 54%, adjusted revenue and recurring revenue growth were in line with expectations, and the company is confident in achieving its full-year cash conversion target. The company will no longer focus on backlog during earnings presentations and will instead focus on recurring revenue growth as a more meaningful predictor of sustainable future revenue growth. The Banking segment saw strong performance with adjusted revenue growth at the high-end of the outlook range, an impressive increase in adjusted EBITDA margin, and healthy recurring revenue growth. Other non-recurring revenue also saw growth, driven by license fee revenue.

The company's professional services revenue decreased by 14% due to a difficult comparison to the previous year. However, their Capital Markets segment saw a 6% growth in adjusted revenue, with a strong 9% growth in recurring revenue. The company is reiterating their full-year outlook for revenue and adjusted EBITDA, but raising their adjusted EPS outlook due to favorable changes in taxes, interest expenses, and other factors. They are also expecting a 20-40 basis points margin expansion for the year, and have been focused on optimizing their cash management, taxes, and capital structure. This has led to a reduction in their projected tax rate.

In summary, our lower tax rate, reduced depreciation and amortization projections, and strong start to the year for Worldpay EMI have led us to raise our full-year EPS outlook to a range of $4.88 to $4.98, growing more than 45%. We also anticipate another quarter of accelerating revenue growth, margin expansion, and strong earnings growth in the second quarter. Our banking revenue is expected to accelerate over the course of the year and capital markets revenue to remain steady. We are confident in our full-year outlook and expect the favorable first quarter trends to continue.

The company is pleased with their first quarter results and has raised their full-year outlook. They are confident in their future growth and have increased their share repurchase target. The call has ended and they look forward to speaking with investors at their upcoming Investor Day.

This summary was generated with AI and may contain some inaccuracies.