American Express has reported a net income of $437m for the first quarter of 2009, a decrease of 56% compared to $991m in the corresponding quarter of 2008.
For the first quarter of 2009, net income attributable to common shareholders was $361 million, or diluted earnings per common share of $0.31, a decrease of 63% compared to $985 million, or earnings per common share of $0.85, for the same quarter of 2008.
For the first quarter of 2009, income from continuing operations was $443m, a decrease of 58% compared to $1.04 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2008. Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were $0.32, down 64% from $0.89 in the first quarter of 2008.
Total revenues net of interest expense declined 18% to $5.93 billion in the first quarter of 2009, from $7.24 billion in the first quarter of 2008.
For the first quarter of 2009, the company’s return on average equity was 16.3%, down from 35.9% at the same quarter of 2008. Return on average common equity, which excludes the impact of preferred shares and other adjustments, was 16.7%, down from 35.7% in the same quarter of 2008.
The US card services segment has reported a loss of $25m in the first quarter of 2009, compared to a net income of $523m in the same quarter of 2008. The international card services segment has reported a net income of $39m, compared to $133m in the first quarter of 2008. Global commercial services segment has reported a net income of $86m for the first quarter of 2009, compared to $151m in the same quarter of 2008.
Kenneth Chenault, chairman and CEO of American Express, said: We made very good progress this quarter on each of our key priorities, to stay liquid, to stay profitable, and to selectively invest for growth.
At a time when some parts of the card industry were incurring substantial losses, we remained solidly profitable thanks, in part, to our flexibility in adapting to a very difficult economic environment and the diversity of our business model. Strong contributions from merchant services and bank card processing on our network continued to provide us with a competitive advantage.
