Moody's Boosts Earnings 2014 Outlook; To Buy Remaining Stake In Copal Amba

(RTTNews) - Credit ratings agency Moody's Corp. (MCO) raised on Tuesday its adjusted earnings guidance for the full-year 2014 ahead of its 2014 Investor Day conference in New York City later in the day. However, the company maintained its annual revenue growth outlook.

New York-based Moody's raised adjusted earnings guidance to a range of $3.95 to $4.05 per share from the prior forecast range of $3.90 to $4.00 per share.

On average, 11 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $4.02 per share for the year. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The guidance excludes the $0.36 per share gain resulting from Moody's acquisition of a controlling interest in ICRA Ltd. in the second quarter of 2014. However, it includes costs related to the acquisition of the remaining outstanding shares of Copal Amba, as well as costs related to the acquisitions of WebEquity and a majority stake in ICRA.

However, the company continues to project annual revenue growth in the low-double-digit percent range. Street is currently looking for full-year 2014 revenues $3.30 billion.

Moody's also boosted its total share repurchases for fiscal 2014 to now be up to $1.25 billion from the previous projection of about $1 billion, subject to available cash, market conditions and other ongoing capital allocation decisions.

Separately, Moody's agreed to acquire the remaining outstanding shares of Copal Amba that it does not own. The terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, were not disclosed.

"Copal Amba has had strong momentum since its formation and has expanded its penetration into the growing market for outsourced financial research, analytics and business intelligence services," Moody's CFO Linda Huber said in a statement.

Copal Amba was formed through the acquisitions of Copal Partners in 2011 and Amba Investment Services in 2013. Moody's is currently a majority owner of Copal Amba.

Moody's intends to fund the deal from international cash on hand. It added that the deal is not expected to have an impact on its earnings per share in 2014.

Copal Amba is the leading provider of offshore research and analytics services to the financial and corporate sectors. The company supports over 200 institutional clients through a team of 2,900 employees.

Copal Amba's clients range from global financial institutions and Fortune 100 corporations to boutique investment banks and asset managers, who have saved over $1.5 billion over the past 11 years, by using its services to enhance front office efficiency.

MCO closed Monday's regular trading session at $23.47, down $1.68 or 5.49% on a volume of 0.63 million shares.