DST SYSTEMS INC
8-K, 1998-04-24
ENGINEERING, ACCOUNTING, RESEARCH, MANAGEMENT
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                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    Form 8-K

                Current Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
                           The Securities Act of 1934

         Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) April 22, 1998

             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
                                DST Systems, Inc.

    (State or other                (Commission             (I.R.S. Employer
     jurisdiction                  File Number)           Identification No.)
     of incorporation)
        Delaware                     1-14036                  43-1581814

                333 West 11th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64105
               (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

        Registrant's telephone number, including area code (816) 435-6568

                                 Not Applicable
         (Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)


<PAGE>
                                    FORM 8-K
                                DST SYSTEMS, INC.

ITEM 1  CHANGES IN CONTROL OF REGISTRANT
Not applicable.

ITEM 2  ACQUISITION OR DISPOSITION OF ASSETS
Not applicable.

ITEM 3  BANKRUPTCY OR RECEIVERSHIP
Not applicable.

ITEM 4  CHANGES IN REGISTRANT'S CERTIFYING ACCOUNTANT
Not applicable.

ITEM 5  OTHER EVENTS
See  attached as an Exhibit to this Form 8-K a News Release  released  April 22,
1998 concerning the announcement of financial results.

ITEM 6 RESIGNATIONS OF REGISTRANT'S DIRECTORS
Not applicable.

ITEM 7  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS
Not applicable.

ITEM 8  CHANGE IN FISCAL YEAR
Not applicable.

SIGNATURE
Pursuant  to the  requirements  of the  Securities  Exchange  Act of  1934,  the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

                                        DST Systems, Inc.


                                        /s/ Robert C. Canfield
                                        Senior Vice President, General Counsel,
                                        Secretary

Date:  April 24, 1998


April 22, 1998

DST SYSTEMS, INC. ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER 1998 FINANCIAL RESULTS

DST Systems, Inc.(DST) announces financial results for the quarter ended
March 31, 1998.

For the quarter ended March 31, 1998, DST's consolidated net income was $18.6
million, an increase of 23.0% over first quarter 1997 net income of $15.1
million.  Basic  earnings per share were $.38 ($.37 on a diluted  basis) for the
current year quarter, an increase of 26.7% and 23.3% respectively, compared to
earnings per share of $.30 (both basic and diluted)for the quarter ended March
31, 1997.

Revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 1998 totaled $187.4 million an increase
of 18.1% over the prior year. U.S. revenues were $157.5 million for the quarter,
an increase of 13.6% over 1997 revenues.  The revenue increase resulted  from
higher levels of mutual fund, output  processing, Automated Work Distributor
(AWD(sm)) and subscriber management volumes.

U.S. mutual fund shareowner accounts serviced totaled 45.9 million at March 31,
1998, an increase of 2.0% from the 45.0 millio  serviced at December 31, 1997
and an increase of 9.8% from the 41.8  million serviced at March 31,  1997.  As
expected and earlier reported, during the quarter Prudentia  internalized the
processing for approximately 900,000 mutual fund shareowner accounts.  Excluding
the Prudential shareowner accounts removed, accounts serviced grew by 1.8
million, or 4.1% from December 31, 1997.  Increased IRA activity contributed to
account  growth.  For the quarter ended March 31, 1998, new IRA accounts opened
increased by 470,000 accounts over the  1997  quarter, and approximately
two-thirds of the increase were the new Roth or Educational IRA accounts.  U.S.
output processing pages printed for the quarter increased 9.1% over first
quarter 1997 volumes to 428.1 million pages.  U.S. AWD workstations licensed
increased 4.6 % over year end 1997 levels.

International revenues totaled $29.9 million for the quarter, a 49.6% increase
over comparable prior year revenues. The increase was attributable to
significantly higher software and services revenues from the Company's
investment accounting products. Canadian mutual fund processing and
international AWD revenues also increased.

Consolidated income from operations increased 31.7% over the prior year quarter
to $31.2 million, resulting in an operating margin of 16.7%, as compared to
14.9% for the prior year. U.S. income from operations increased 8.0% to $28.1
million.  U.S. costs and expenses increased 15.7%, principally due to increased
personnel costs to support revenue growth.  U.S. depreciation  and amortization
costs grew 10.4% in the first quarter 1998 to $19.7  million as a result of one
time write-offs of intangible assets totaling $3.2 million, primarily associated
with a $2.6 million  contract termination fee received in the quarter.  Without
these non-recurring items, U.S. income from operations would have risen by 10.2%
and U.S. operating margin would have been 18.5%. International businesses posted
an aggregate operating income of $3.1 million for the current year quarter, as
compared to an operating loss of $2.4 million for the 1997 quarter, primarily
resulting from increased investment accounting software and services and
Canadian mutual fund processing revenues.

Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates was a loss of $0.4 million for
the quarter ended March 31, 1998, as compared to a profit of $1.0 million for
the quarter ended March 31, 1997, resulting from increased  losses at European
Financial Data Services (EFDS), and lower earnings at Argus Health Systems, Inc.
Earnings at Boston Financial Data Services increased nominally over the prior
year.

Interest expense totaled $2.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, 1998, up
slightly from the $2.2 million recorded in the prior year quarter.

DST's effective tax rate rose to 36.8% for the first quarter 1998, as compared
to 35.2% for the prior year quarter, primarily caused by changes in the
components of taxable income.

Other Actions
During the quarter, DST purchased 200,000 shares of its common stock, completing
its 1.2 million share repurchase program. The shares purchased will be available
to employees under DST's stock award  program and to provide to option  holders
who exercise options.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                DST SYSTEMS, INC.
                   CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME
                    (In thousands, except per share amounts)
                                   (Unaudited)

                                                                           March 31, 1997          March 31, 1998
                                                                           --------------          --------------
<S>                                                                        <C>                       <C>    

Revenues                                                                   $ 158,684                 $ 187,423

Costs & Expenses                                                             115,354                   134,421
Depreciation & Amortization                                                   19,629                    21,780
                                                                     ----------------           ---------------

Income from Operations                                                        23,701                    31,222

Interest Expense                                                              (2,163)                   (2,301)
Other Income                                                                     979                       841
Equity in Earnings (Losses) of Unconsolidated Affiliates                       1,044                      (444)
                                                                     ----------------           ---------------

Income Before Income Taxes & Minority Interest                                23,561                    29,318

Income Taxes                                                                   8,302                    10,792
                                                                     ----------------           ---------------

Income Before Minority Interest                                               15,259                    18,526

Minority Interest in Income (Losses)                                             156                       (47)
                                                                     ----------------           ---------------

Net Income                                                                  $ 15,103                  $ 18,573
                                                                     ================           ===============

Average Common Shares Outstanding                                             49,529                    49,002

Basic Earnings Per Share                                                       $0.30                     $0.38

Diluted Earnings Per Share                                                     $0.30                     $0.37


</TABLE>


DST Systems, Inc.
333 West 11th Street
Kansas City, MO
64105-1594

NYSE & CHX Symbol:  DST
Contact:
Thomas A. McDonnell (816) 435-8684
President and Chief Executive Officer
Kenneth V. Hager (816) 435-8603
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer


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