ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 19, 2006--Cass Information Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CASS), the nation's leading provider of transportation, utility and telecom invoice payment and information services, reported third quarter 2006 earnings of $.46 per fully diluted share, a 24% increase over the $.37 per fully diluted share (adjusted for a September 15, 2006 50% stock dividend) reported for the third quarter of 2005. Net income for the period was $3,884,000 compared to $3,093,000 in 2005.

Earnings from continuing operations were $.47 per fully diluted share, a 24% increase over the $.38 per fully diluted share earned from continuing operations in the same period of 2005. Net income from continuing operations was $3,972,000 and $3,265,000 respectively. (The assets, liabilities and results of a wholly-owned subsidiary sold by Cass in the fourth quarter of 2005 are shown as discontinued operations.)

Payment and processing fees increased 13% or $1,202,000 compared to the year-earlier period, as transportation invoices were up 6% and dollar volume rose 17% due to new business and heightened activity from existing accounts. Utility invoices processed were up 20%.

Net investment income increased 23% or $1,911,000 due mainly to growth in funds generated from processing activities and to the rise in prevailing interest rates.

Operating expenses were up 14% or $1,877,000 largely as a result of higher employee costs related to transaction growth.

Nine-Month 2006 Results

For the nine months ended September 30, 2006, the company earned $1.37 per fully diluted share from continuing operations, a 32% increase from the $1.04 per fully diluted share reported for the same period in 2005. Net income from continuing operations was $11,648,000, 32% higher than the $8,826,000 earned in 2005. Revenue rose $9,077,000 or 17% compared to the first nine months of 2005 due to increased processing volumes, fee revenues and investment income.

Operating expenses were up 11% or $4,404,000 in the nine-month year-over-year period, mainly due to the increase in salaries and benefits required to support processing growth.

Selected Consolidated Financial Data

The following table presents selected unaudited consolidated financial data (in thousands, except per share data) for the periods ended September 30, 2006 and 2005:

                        Quarter     Quarter   Nine Months  Nine Months
                         Ended       Ended       Ended       Ended
                        9/30/06     9/30/05     9/30/06      9/30/05
Transportation
 Invoice Volume            6,154       5,815       18,311      16,488
Transportation Dollar
 Volume               $3,648,694  $3,111,175  $10,722,994  $8,548,554
Utility Transaction
 Volume                    1,701       1,421        4,797       4,225
Utility Dollar Volume $1,538,628  $1,148,438  $ 4,188,578  $3,166,853
Payment and
 Processing Fees      $   10,359  $    9,157  $    29,853  $   26,486
Net Investment Income     10,270       8,359       29,471      23,458
Gain on Sales of Debt
 Securities                  ---         ---          ---         547
Other                        569         563        1,895       1,651
                      ----------- ----------- ------------ -----------
  Total Revenues      $   21,198  $   18,079  $    61,219  $   52,142
                      ----------- ----------- ------------ -----------
Salaries and Benefits $   11,136  $    9,600  $    31,673  $   28,280
Occupancy                    522         499        1,462       1,443
Equipment                    732         716        2,128       2,146
Other                      2,631       2,329        7,911       6,901
                      ----------- ----------- ------------ -----------
  Total Operating
   Expenses           $   15,021  $   13,144  $    43,174  $   38,770
                      ----------- ----------- ------------ -----------
Income from
 Continuing
 Operations before
 Income Taxes         $    6,177  $    4,935  $    18,045  $   13,372
Provision for Income
 Taxes                $    2,205  $    1,670  $     6,397  $    4,546
                      ----------- ----------- ------------ -----------
Net Income from
 Continuing
 Operations           $    3,972  $    3,265  $    11,648  $    8,826
Loss from
 Discontinued
 Operations net of
 Income Taxes         $      (88)       (172)        (277)       (382)
                      ----------- ----------- ------------ -----------
Net Income                 3,884  $    3,093  $    11,371  $    8,444
                      =========== =========== ============ ===========
Average Earning
 Assets               $  774,293  $  700,442  $   751,769  $  682,092
Net Interest Margin         5.56%       4.98%        5.53%       4.85%
Allowance for Loan
 Losses to Loans            1.14%       1.20%        1.14%       1.20%
Non-performing Loans
 to Total Loans              .18%        .22%         .18%        .22%
Net Loan Charge-offs
 to Loans                    .11%        ---          .16%        .08%
Provision for Loan
 Losses               $      200  $      225  $       500  $      625
Non-performing Loans  $      954  $    1,134  $       954  $    1,134
Basic Earnings per
 Share (EPS) from
 Continuing
 Operations           $      .48  $      .39  $      1.40  $     1.07
Basic EPS from
 Discontinued
 Operations                 (.01)       (.02)        (.03)       (.05)
                      ----------- ----------- ------------ -----------
Basic Earnings per
 Share                $      .47  $      .37  $      1.37  $     1.02
                      =========== =========== ============ ===========
Diluted EPS from
 Continuing
 Operations           $      .47  $      .38  $      1.37  $     1.04
Diluted EPS from
 Discontinued
 Operations                 (.01)       (.01)        (.03)       (.04)
                      ----------- ----------- ------------ -----------
Diluted Earnings per
 Share                $      .46  $      .37  $      1.34  $     1.00
                      =========== =========== ============ ===========

About Cass Information Systems

Cass Information Systems is the leading provider of transportation, utility and telecom invoice payment and information services. The company, which has been involved in the payables services and information support business since 1956, disburses over $16 billion annually on behalf of customers from processing centers in St. Louis, Mo., Columbus, Ohio, Boston, Mass. and Greenville, S.C. The support of Cass Commercial Bank, founded in 1906, makes Cass Information Systems unique in the industry. Cass is part of the Russell 2000(R) Index.

    http://www.cassinfo.com

    Note to Investors

Certain matters set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that are provided to assist in the understanding of anticipated future financial performance. However, such performance involves risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in such statements. For a discussion of certain factors that may cause such forward-looking statements to differ materially from the company's actual results, see the company's reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission including the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005.

    CONTACT: Casey Communications, Inc.
             Kenn Entringer, 314-721-2828
             kentringer@caseycomm.com

    SOURCE: Cass Information Systems, Inc.