Apollo Beats Estimates, but Plans to Shutter 25 Campuses
Apollo Group, owner of the University of Phoenix, reported a better-than-expected profit, but said student sign-ups fell for the fourth straight quarter.
Following the release, the company's stock rose in premarket trade. (Click here to track the company's shares in trading before the opening bell.)
Excluding one-time items, Apollo reported earnings of 34 cents per share for the second quarter, beating the 18 cents Wall Street had estimated.
Revenue fell 13 percent to $834.4 million, but were ahead of the $822.8 million analysts had expected on average, according to Thomson Reuters.
Student sign-ups at the university, the No. 1 U.S. for-profit college, fell 20 percent in the quarter ended Feb. 28.
Net income fell 79 percent to $13.5 million, or 12 cents per share, from $63.9 million, or 51 cents per share, a year earlier.
Apollo reaffirmed its full-year forecast for operating income of $500 million to $550 million excluding one-time items, and revenue of $3.65 billion to $3.75 billion.
The company expects its previously announced restructuring actions to reduce operating expenses by at least $350 million by fiscal year 2014, raising the estimate by $50 million compared to its earlier target.
Apollo said in October it will cut about 800 jobs and shut down 25 campuses to save costs amid declining profit and lower student enrollments.
