PHOENIX (dpa-AFX) - For profit education company Apollo Group, Inc. (APOL) said Thursday after the markets closed that its first quarter profit fell 37% from last year, mainly due to lower enrollments at University of Phoenix. However, the company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, came in above analysts' expectations. At the same time, the company maintained its revenue outlooks for the fiscal year 2012.
The Phoenix, Arizona-based company reported net income for the first quarter of $149.3 million or $1.14 per share, compared to $235.4 million or $1.61 per share for the year-ago quarter.
The latest quarter results include goodwill and other intangible asset impairment charges of $16.8 million for the UNIACC subsidiary of Apollo Global as well as restructuring and other charges of $5.6 million associated with the company's real estate rationalization plan.
Excluding items, earnings for the latest were $167.2 million or $1.28 per share.
On average, 17 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $1.18 per share for the first quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Net revenue for he first quarter fell 11.1% to $1.18 billion from $1.33 billion in the same quarter last year. Fourteen analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $1.16 billion for the first quarter.
University of Phoenix Degreed Enrollment dropped 14.8% year-over-year to 373,100 in the first quarter, mainly due to decreases in New Degreed Enrollment during fiscal 2011, which the company believes were mainly the result of the operational changes and initiatives it implemented to more effectively support students and improve educational outcomes, as well as the broader competitive environment.
University of Phoenix New Degreed Enrollment increased 12.7% in the first quarter as compared to a year earlier.
During the first quarter, the company repurchased about 1.7 million shares of its Class A common stock for $78.2 million. Subsequent to quarter-end and through December 31, 2011, the company repurchased an additional 2.6 million shares of Class A common stock for $128.3 million. As of December 31, 2011, about $293.5 million remained available under the company's current share repurchase authorization.
Separately, the company said Thursday that Charles Edelstein will retire as co-Chief Executive Officer and director of the company on August 26, 2012. Following his retirement as co-CEO, Edelstein will serve the company in a part-time advisory capacity through February 2013.
Gregory Cappelli will assume all duties and responsibilities as Chief Executive Officer of Apollo Group upon Edelstein's retirement. Edelstein and Cappelli have served together as co-CEOs of Apollo Group since 2009.
Looking forward, the company maintained its fiscal 2012 revenue outlook of $4.1 billion to $4.3 billion. Analysts currently expect the company to post revenue of $4.26 billion for the fiscal year 2012.
Apollo Group shares, which have traded in a range of $34.43 to $54.58 over the past year, closed Thursday's regular trading session at $53.72, down 39 cents. The stock is currently gaining $1.09 or 2.03% in after hours trading.
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