McGraw CEO: Look For Second-Half Bounce

McGraw Hill Companies posted fourth-quarter earnings that missed analysts' expectations by 1 cent per share, as revenue from credit market services tumbled.

The diversified information services provider said it expects a challenging first half of 2008 -- but with a better performance in the second half.

"Both our McGraw-Hill education business and our McGraw-Hill information and media business will grow this year in the 6 to 8 percent range on the top line," chairman, president and chief executive Terry McGraw told CNBC.

"Standard and Poor's, in the financial service area, will probably be growing about 2 to 4 percent, and we see most of that growth coming in the second half of the year."

Fourth-quarter net income dropped 31 percent, to 43 cents per share, from 56 cents a year earlier. Analysts had expected per-share earnings of 52 cents.

The company blamed a drop of about three-quarters in volumes of new U.S. mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations, and cited an 8 cent re-structuring charge for severance costs for more than six hundred employees.