(Source: PRNewswire)DECATUR, Ga., May 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Harland Clarke Holdings Corp. ("Harland Clarke Holdings" or the "Company") today reported results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009. In addition to the Harland Clarke Holdings quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission today, Harland Clarke Holdings' financial results are also consolidated in the quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed today by M & F Worldwide Corp. , which is the indirect parent company of Harland Clarke Holdings.

M & F Worldwide will host a conference call to discuss its first quarter 2009 results on May 14, 2009, at 9:00 a.m. (EDT). The conference call will be accessible by dialing (800) 288-8961 in the United States and (612) 332-1210 internationally. For those unable to listen live, a replay of the call will be available by dialing (800) 475-6701 in the United States and (320) 365-3844 internationally; Access Code: 997850. The replay will be available from 11:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, May 14, 2009, through 11:59 p.m. (EDT) Thursday, May 28, 2009.

   First Quarter Highlights    --  Net revenues of $438.6 million, down 1.3% as compared to the first       quarter of 2008   --  Non-GAAP adjusted net income of $14.7 million, which excludes the       impact of gain on extinguishment of debt    --  Purchased $90.5 million principal amount of the Senior Notes,       resulting in a pre-tax gain of $52.6 million    First Quarter 2009 Performance    Consolidated Results   

Consolidated net revenues decreased by $5.9 million, or 1.3%, to $438.6 million for the first quarter of 2009 from $444.5 million for the first quarter of 2008, primarily due to a decrease in net revenues for the Harland Clarke segment of $17.0 million, partially offset by an increase in net revenues of $14.6 million due to the acquisition of Data Management I LLC by Scantron on February 22, 2008.

Non-GAAP adjusted net income was $14.7 million, which excludes the impact of gain on extinguishment of debt. Net income for the first quarter of 2009 was $47.2 million, as compared to $7.2 million for the first quarter of 2008. Net income for the first quarter of 2009 includes a $52.6 million ($32.5 million after tax) gain from early extinguishment of debt related to the purchase of $90.5 million principal amount of the Senior Notes for aggregate consideration of $35.1 million. The increase in net income for the first quarter of 2009 as compared to the first quarter of 2008 also reflects a reduction in interest expense of $12.1 million ($7.5 million after tax), primarily due to lower interest rates on variable rate debt.

For the first quarter of 2009, Adjusted EBITDA increased by $7.7 million, or 7.2%, to $115.1 million as compared to $107.4 million for the first quarter of 2008. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure that is defined in the footnotes to this release and is reconciled to net income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, in the accompanying financial tables.

Segment Results

Net revenues for the Harland Clarke segment decreased by $17.0 million, or 5.1%, to $315.1 million for the first quarter of 2009 from $332.1 million for the first quarter of 2008, primarily as a result of volume declines from check and related products, which we believe were partially affected by the economic downturn, as well as one less production day in the first quarter of 2009. Declines in volumes were partially offset by increased revenues per unit. Operating income for the Harland Clarke segment decreased by $2.4 million, or 4.5%, to $50.9 million for the first quarter of 2009 from $53.3 million for the first quarter of 2008. The decrease in operating income was largely driven by the decrease in net revenues and an increase in restructuring expenses of $6.9 million, in addition to increases in materials and delivery expenses, which were partially offset by labor cost reductions and a decrease in integration expenses. Operating income for the first quarter of 2009 and 2008 includes charges of $7.3 million and $0.4 million, respectively, for restructuring costs.

Net revenues for the Harland Financial Solutions segment decreased by $2.0 million, or 2.8%, to $69.2 million for the first quarter of 2009 from $71.2 million for the first quarter of 2008 as a result of decreases from both the risk management and enterprise solutions product lines. Net revenues in the risk management product lines decreased $0.3 million in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the first quarter of 2008 primarily due to declines in mortgage products, partially offset by growth in other lending products. Net revenues in the enterprise solutions product lines decreased $1.7 million in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the first quarter of 2008 primarily due to a slight decline in new bookings, which we believe was partially related to the economic downturn. Net revenues include charges of $0.1 million and $1.0 million in the first quarter of 2009 and 2008, respectively, for non-cash fair value purchase accounting adjustments to deferred revenue related to an acquisition. Operating income for the Harland Financial Solutions segment increased by $1.0 million, or 15.6% to $7.4 million for the first quarter of 2009 from $6.4 million for the first quarter of 2008 primarily due to labor cost reductions, partially offset by restructuring expenses of $2.4 million and the decrease in net revenues. Operating income for the first quarter of 2009 and 2008 includes charges of $1.0 million and $2.5 million, respectively, for compensation expense related to an incentive agreement from an acquisition.

Net revenues for the Scantron segment increased by $12.8 million to $54.4 million for the first quarter of 2009 from $41.6 million for the first quarter of 2008 primarily as a result of the Data Management acquisition, which accounted for an increase of $14.6 million. The remaining $1.8 million decrease is due to declines from the legacy Scantron product lines, which we believe were negatively affected by the economic downturn. Operating income for the Scantron segment increased by $1.1 million, to $6.8 million in the first quarter of 2009 from $5.7 million in the first quarter of 2008. The increase is due to the Data Management acquisition, which accounted for an increase of $1.8 million. The remaining $0.7 million decrease was primarily due to approximately $1.3 million in one-time expenses related to a contractual obligation owing to a former employee upon termination of employment and integration expenses. Increases in selling, general and administrative expenses were partially offset by cost reductions. Operating income for the first quarter of 2009 includes charges of $1.4 million for restructuring and $0.1 million for non-cash fair value purchase accounting adjustments to deferred revenue related to an acquisition. Operating income for the first quarter of 2008 includes charges of $0.9 million for restructuring and $0.6 million for non-cash fair value purchase accounting adjustments to deferred revenue and inventory related to acquisitions.

About Harland Clarke Holdings

Harland Clarke Holdings has three business segments, which are operated by Harland Clarke, Harland Financial Solutions, and Scantron. Harland Clarke provides checks and related products and direct marketing services to financial institutions and their customers. The operations of Harland Financial Solutions include core processing, retail and lending software solutions. Scantron is a leading provider of data collection and testing and assessment products and services sold primarily to educational and commercial customers.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward looking statements that reflect management's current assumptions and estimates of future performance and economic conditions, which are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Harland Clarke Holdings' control.