Paul R. Garcia
Analyst · Credit Suisse
Thank you, Jane. And thanks, everyone, for joining us this afternoon. We met our expectations for the first quarter of fiscal 2013, and we are on target to achieve our full year financial expectations. Revenue grew 9% in the first quarter to $590 million, resulting in cash earnings per share of $0.87. On a constant currency basis, revenue and cash earnings per share grew 12% and 3%, respectively. I'm pleased to note that the 2 previously announced acquisitions, namely the U.S.-based Accelerated Payment Technologies, or APT, and the purchase of HSBC's 44% ownership interest in our Asia-Pacific joint venture, are both expected to close in the second quarter. We also anticipate increasing our borrowing capacity by up to $850 million, which David will take you through in just a moment. I think the benefits of the Asia-Pacific transaction are obvious, as it allows us to execute our long-term expansion strategy. As APT was just announced in August, it represents a significant investment. I'd like to spend a few moments discussing the strategic benefits of this acquisition. APT is an innovative provider of fully integrated technology payment solutions for small to medium-sized merchants. This deal allows us to add a very profitable, defensible, high growth, direct distribution channel. APT markets its products through a network of 700 value-added resellers, or VARs, covering 30 verticals. Integrated payment solutions are a tremendous growth area for small to medium-sized merchants which, of course, is our sweet spot. These merchants value customized solutions that streamline back-office operations like scheduling, inventory, record management and billing, to name a few. APT seamlessly integrates a payment module into software solutions for vertical markets, including dental, medical, pharmacy, specialty retail, automotive and veterinary. Growth will be fueled by ongoing organic trends, adding new merchants via existing VAR partners and through establishing new VAR relationships. Importantly, once these relationships are established, the business tends to be very sticky, resulting in low attrition rates. As we have had a long-standing relationship with APT and process approximately 90% of their volumes, there is little to no integration risk. In summary, APT has sustained excellent margins and a loyal customer base while leveraging industry-leading technology. We look forward to welcoming the APT team to Global Payments. I'll now turn the call over to David. David?