Staff Report
Published July 28, 2010

Second-quarter profit for Daniel Island-based Blackbaud Inc. rose 3% to $6.8 million, officials announced Tuesday.

The company, which produces software and services for nonprofit organizations, said revenue increased about 6% during the quarter ended June 30. CEO Marc Chardon said total revenue, at $80.7 million, was at the high end of the company’s expectations.

“While the pace of economic recovery remains uncertain, we saw increased evidence of stabilization and improvement in the nonprofit market during the second quarter,” Chardon said in a statement.

Year to date, revenue was up 4% and earnings were up 20%.

Quarterly earnings were 15 cents per share, the same as in the second quarter of 2009.

“In addition to an improvement in economic conditions, we believe that Blackbaud is executing well bringing new products and packaged offerings to market,” Chardon said. “We are excited by the market’s acceptance of these new solutions and are confident that we will continue to strengthen our market position and expand our market opportunity as we implement our long-term product roadmap.”

Blackbaud also announced a third-quarter dividend Tuesday of 11 cents per share, payable Sept. 15 to stockholders of record on Aug. 27.

During the second quarter, Blackbaud purchased 958,000 shares using a combination of $21.5 million in cash and a revolving credit facility.

Blackbaud said its board of directors has authorized a new program effective Aug. 1 to repurchase up to $50 million of company stock.

The amount remaining under the prior share repurchase authorization, which expires July 31, is $8.2 million.