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• Annual Report - 2.4 MB
• Financials - 190 KB
• Proxy - 261 KB

Dear Fellow Shareholders,

he past year has been a difficult one on many levels. Some of the photos of Phil and me that appear in this annual report were taken on September 11. Those events are some of the most disturbing I have ever witnessed, and smiling at that moment was unnatural and forced. Like the rest of the nation, and the world, our thoughts were with those in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. I immediately thought of the TSYS team members who were traveling and began the task of making sure all were accounted for and safe. Thankfully, they were.

Watching everything unfold gave me a renewed sense of priority and focus. The human impact of that day will never be erased, and the financial effects continue to unfold. Throughout the uncertainty, TSYS met its financial goals for the nineteenth consecutive year. Although the economy and some of our customers encountered unanticipated events during 2001, we effectively dealt with these issues and achieved our financial forecast of growing net income by 20 percent. Our three-year VisionWorks plan, which we unveiled last year, served as a strong strategic guide for us during these trying times. And I am confident that it will lead us to success in the coming year.

From our beginning, we had a vision of our future and a plan to get us there. So far, that vision has worked. I’ve been in this business for 36 years, and I’ve seen many changes. I’ve seen TSYS go from processing mainly for small banks to handling billions of transactions for some of the largest issuers in the world. We now process through the Internet and other channels no one could have imagined would even exist when we started this business.

I’m proud of this company and our achievements this past year, accomplished in the midst of a recession and catastrophic events. I am also proud of our 19-year history as a publicly traded company, and I think our growth potential is excellent. I hope you share my vision.

When we began expanding internationally, we knew what we wanted to achieve. But even today, it’s still a little awe inspiring to know we now have offices in Europe, Mexico, Canada and Japan. TS2, our global payment platform, is the only third-party electronic payment system capable of servicing a client’s portfolio in more than one currency and on more than one continent. That means we can help issuers grow their portfolios to include international and cross-border markets. We truly are a global company, and the possibilities for increased revenue are exciting.

In Europe alone, credit cards represent 46 percent of the cards in use. Card usage and credit are projected to grow significantly in the European Union, and transaction volumes are growing at 19 percent a year. TSYS is certified to process the euro, and we have the technology in place to take an even greater share of the European market. I believe our efforts in Europe will be rewarded within the next 18 to 24 months.

The growth potential in the Asia-Pacific region is abundant, with more than 407 million credit and debit cards. We are upgrading TS2 to accommodate the unique characters inherent in the region’s languages and currencies. This, coupled with the relationships we are building, will position TSYS to attract clients in the Asia-Pacific region. We are in discussions with leading issuers in Japan, and we intend to provide in-country processing services through a local data center. I am confident that within the next few years, TSYS will be a well-known name in the Asia-Pacific market.

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