TSYS® Reports 24.9% Increase in Net Income for 2000

Anticipates Strong Net Income Increase for 2001 of 20%

Columbus, Ga., January 16, 2001 - Total System Services, Inc.® (TSYS®) (NYSE: "TSS") today announced net income and revenues for the twelve months and quarter ended December 31, 2000, in line with its anticipated results.

Net income for the twelve months of 2000 increased 24.9% to $85.6 million, up from $68.6 million for the same period last year. Basic and diluted earnings per share for 2000 increased to $.44, up from $.35 for 1999. Revenues for 2000 were $601.3 million, an increase of 12.6% compared with revenues of $533.9 million for 1999. Excluding revenues attributable to the Citigroup Universal Card Services' (UCS) consumer card portfolio for both years, pro forma revenues for the year increased 18.5% compared to last year.

Net income for the fourth quarter of 2000 increased 6.5% to $21.6 million, up from $20.3 million for the same period last year. Basic and diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter of 2000 increased to $.11, up from $.10 for the fourth quarter of 1999. Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2000 were $156.0 million, an increase of 8.5%, compared with revenues of $143.8 million for the fourth quarter of 1999. Excluding UCS, pro forma revenues for the fourth quarter would have increased 17.8% compared to the same period last year.

Chairman and CEO Richard W. Ussery said, "We are extremely pleased with the financial results for 2000. We began the year anticipating a net income increase of 20% over 1999. We were able to deliver a 24.9% increase in net income as a result of our concerted emphasis on expense control and above average internal growth of our clients. TSYS reported the eighteenth consecutive year of record net income, revenues and earnings per share in 2000. We anticipate another record year in 2001."

Ussery continued, "During the third quarter of 2000, we announced:

  • Signing of Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c., to a five-year processing agreement for its 500,000 retail and commercial card accounts;
  • Signing of Target Stores to a multi-year agreement to process the retailer's new consumer Visa Card; and
  • Election of TSYS President Philip W. Tomlinson to the board of directors of GP Network Corporation in Japan.

We are excited with our results for 2000 and look forward to another successful year in 2001."

2001 Financial Outlook

TSYS expects an increase in net income for 2001 over 2000 of approximately 20%. This anticipated increase in net income is based in part upon the following assumptions:

  • a 10-12% internal growth rate for existing Visa and MasterCard consumer card clients;
  • an approximately 50% increase in international revenues on an annualized basis;
  • an aggressive focus on expense control and productivity improvement;
  • the successful implementation and market acceptance of new product offerings, including stored value and e-commerce; and
  • increasing the total cardholder base to approximately 220 million accounts

TSYS anticipates that revenue growth for the first two quarters of 2001 will continue to be soft when compared to the same quarters in 2000, which included revenues associated with UCS consumer card processing. Expenses in the first half of 2001 will continue to be burdened with the infrastructure costs of our international expansion without the benefit of any additional international revenues.

Once the portfolios of Royal Bank of Scotland and Allied Irish Banks are fully converted and with a continued emphasis on expense control, TSYS expects earnings growth rates to increase in the third and fourth quarters of 2001.

Extended Financial Outlook

With the continued expansion of TSYS' businesses both domestically and internationally, market acceptance of our stored value products and e-commerce enabling systems, and aggressive expense management, we expect to increase our annual net income by 20-25% in 2002 and 2003.

TSYS will host a quarterly earnings conference call at 4:15 EDT, January 16, 2001. The conference call can be accessed on TSYS' web site at www.totalsystem.com by clicking on the Live Webcast icon.

TSYS provides global commerce solutions. With more than 195 million accounts on file, TSYS facilitates the payment exchange between buyers and sellers. TSYS and its family of companies offer a full range of acquiring and issuing business services from accepting electronic payments for goods and services to credit applications and collections for credit, debit, commercial, stored value, retail and chip accounts. TSYS has offices in the United States, Europe, Mexico, Canada and Japan, and processes in 21 countries and 12 currencies. Based in Columbus, Ga., TSYS (www.totalsystem.com) is an 80.8 percent- owned subsidiary of Synovus Financial Corp., (NYSE: "SNV") (www.synovus.com). For more information, contact news@totalsystem.com.

Contacts:
James B. Lipham
Chief Financial Officer
ph. (706) 649-2262

Leo S. Berard
Investor Relations Manager
ph. (706) 649-5220

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements regarding TSYS' expected growth in net income for the years 2001-2003, internal growth rate for Visa and MasterCard consumer card clients, increase in international revenues and the expected increase in the total cardholder base for 2001 and 2003. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements in this press release. Many of these factors are beyond TSYS' ability to control or predict. The factors include, but are not limited to, lower than anticipated internal growth rates for TSYS' existing customers, TSYS' inability to control expenses associated with the growth in its number of employees, TSYS' inability to successfully bring new products to market, including, but not limited to, stored value and e-commerce products, the inability of TSYS to grow its business through acquisitions, adverse developments with respect to entering into contracts with new clients and retaining current clients, the merger of TSYS clients with entities that are not TSYS clients, TSYS' inability to anticipate and respond to technological changes, particularly with respect to e-commerce adverse developments with respect to the successful conversion of clients, the absence of significant changes in foreign exchange spreads between the United States and the countries TSYS transacts business in, to include Mexico, United Kingdom, Japan, Canada and the European Union, adverse developments with respect to the credit card industry in general and overall market conditions. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in this press release can be found in TSYS' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. We believe these forward-looking statements are reasonable; however, undue reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations.