Korn/Ferry Q4 Profit Rises

(RTTNews) - Korn/Ferry International (KFY) Thursday reported an increase in profit for the fourth quarter, as fee revenue improved across all segments, with earnings and revenue topping analysts' expectations.

Los Angeles, California-based Korn/Ferry's fourth-quarter profit rose to $25.5 million or $0.51 per share from $21.2 million or $0.43 per share last year.

Excluding one-time items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $25.6 million or $0.51 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earning of $0.47 per share for the fourth quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Revenues for the fourth quarter rose to $282.2 million from $260.8 million a year ago. Fee revenue for the quarter grew 8 percent to $271.8 million from $251.7 million last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $260.86 million for the quarter.

Fee revenue at the executive-recruitment segment rose 5.7 percent to $156.6 million, while leadership and talent consulting division climbed 10 percent to $72.8 million. Fee revenues at Futurestep jumped 13.7 percent to $42.4 million.

Looking forward to the first quarter, the company currently sees earnings of $0.44 to $0.50 per share and fee revenue of $258 million to $270 million. Analysts currently expect earnings of $0.44 per share on revenues of $263.92 million for the quarter.

KFY closed Thursday's trading at $32.76, up $0.23 or 0.71%, on the NYSE. The stock further gained $0.94 or 2.87% in the after-hours trade.