NEW YORK -- Dice Holding Inc.'s shares soared in trading Wednesday after the career website company reported that its third-quarter net income jumped 18 percent and issued a better-than-expected outlook for the year.
The company earned $11 million, or 17 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Sept. 30. That's compared with $9.3 million, or 13 cents per share, earned in the same quarter last year. It was helped by lower income tax expenses and improved revenue from both its core and recently added businesses. Earnings per share benefited from a 10 reduction in the number of average shares outstanding.
Total revenue increased nearly 3 percent to $48 million from $46.8 million, which includes a boost from its recent acquisitions of technology websites such as Slashdot and SourceForge from Geeknet Inc.
The quarter beat market expectations. Analysts were expecting the company to earn 12 cents per share for the quarter on revenue of $47 million, according to data from FactSet.
Dice Holdings CEO Scot Melland said that the company's recruitment activity has been generally stable during the most recent quarter, except in Europe where it continues to weaken. The company added customers and improved its renewal rates during the period.
For the fourth quarter, the company expects net income of $8.7 million on revenue of $51.4 million. Analysts had forecast net income of $9.2 million on revenue of $49.1 million.
Dice Holdings also forecast full-year net income of $37.6 million on revenue of $194 million. Analysts were expecting $35.3 million on revenue of $190.7 million.
Shares of the company jumped 87 cents, or more than 10 percent, to $9.13 by late afternoon trading. Its shares remain in the middle of its 52-week trading range of $6.95 to $11.01.