ST. PAUL, MN - Deluxe Corporation announced its financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2012. Key financial highlights include:

Adjusted Diluted EPS exceeded the high end of the range in the prior outlook due to strong operating performance, particularly in Financial Services, and a better than expected effective income tax rate. In addition, GAAP diluted EPS included a loss of $0.07 per share related to the early retirement of debt.A reconciliation between earnings per share on a GAAP basis and adjusted earnings per share on a non-GAAP basis is provided after the Forward-Looking Statements discussion.

“We are excited to deliver our third straight year of revenue growth and our highest annual revenue growth rate since 1994, excluding the NEBS acquisition,” said Lee Schram, CEO of Deluxe. “Revenue in the fourth quarter was at the top end of our outlook and adjusted EPS exceeded our outlook, driven by strong performance in both Small Business Services and Financial Services. Full year adjusted EPS grew almost 14% to $3.53. Looking forward to 2013, in spite of an anticipated continued sluggish economy, we expect to continue our strong performance with a fourth year of profitable revenue growth.”

Fourth Quarter 2012 Highlights:

• Revenue for the quarter was $387.6 million compared to $366.4 million during the fourth quarter of 2011. Revenue increased 5.8% compared to 2011, driven by 11.2% growth in Small Business Services, which included the impact of the OrangeSoda, Inc. acquisition in the second quarter. Marketing solutions and other services revenue, which also included the impact of the OrangeSoda, Inc. acquisition, increased 26.4% compared to 2011 and represented 22.5% of consolidated revenue, up from 18.8% in the fourth quarter of 2011.
• Gross margin was 64.5 percent of revenue, the same as in 2011. Increased delivery rates, material costs and performance based compensation expense in 2012 were offset by favorable impacts from price increases and the Company’s continued cost reduction initiatives.
• Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expense increased $10.3 million in the quarter compared to 2011. Increased SG&A expense associated with commissions on increased revenue, as well as higher performance based compensation expense, higher brand awareness spending, and the OrangeSoda acquisition in the second quarter, was partially offset by benefits from continued execution against expense reduction initiatives.