Moody's Q4 Profit Beats Estimates; Issues FY15 Outlook - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Credit ratings agency Moody's Corp. (MCO) reported that fourth-quarter net income attributable to the company increased to $236.3 million or $1.12 per share from $206.7 million or $0.94 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted net income for the latest quarter was $1.12 per share, up from $0.85 per share in the comparable quarter last year. On average, eleven analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.95 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenue for the quarter increased 13 percent to $877.5 million from $779.2 million in the prior-year quarter, while ten analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $850.29 million for the quarter.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2015, the company expects earnings in the range of $4.55 to $4.65 per share, and revenue and operating expense to each grow in the mid-single-digit percent range. Street is currently looking for full-year 2015 earnings of $4.58 per share on annual revenue of $3.54 billion.

On December 16, 2014, Moody's increased its quarterly dividend by 21% from $0.28 to $0.34 per share of common stock. During 2014, Moody's returned $236.0 million to its shareholders via dividend payments.