Korn/Ferry Q4 Profit Tops Street

(RTTNews) - Korn/Ferry International (KFY) Wednesday reported a drop in profit for the fourth quarter, despite increase in fee revenue across all segments. However, both earnings and revenue topped Wall Street analysts' expectations.

Los Angeles, California-based Korn/Ferry's fourth-quarter profit dropped to $5.8 million or $0.10 per share from $25.5 million or $0.51 per share last year.

Excluding one-time items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $0.58 per share, up from $0.51 per share last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earning of $0.54 per share for the fourth quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Revenues for the fourth quarter surged 48 percent to $417.1 million from $282.2 million a year ago. Fee revenue for the quarter grew to $399.9 from $271.8 million last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $387.74 million for the quarter.

Fee revenue at the executive-recruitment segment rose 2 percent to $159.7 million, while Hay group jumped 158 percent to $187.8 million. Fee revenues at Futurestep climbed 24 percent to $52.5 million.

Looking forward to the first quarter, the company currently sees adjusted earnings of $0.50 to $0.58 per share and fee revenue of $375 million to $395 million. Analysts currently expect earnings of $0.44 per share on revenues of $384.9 million for the quarter.

KFY closed Wednesday's trading at $27.62, down $0.71 or 2.51%, on the NYSE. The stock further dropped $0.62 or 2.24% in the after-hours trade.