Moody's hikes 2009 view despite 3Q profit decline

NEW YORK - A strong corporate-bond market helped prop up Moody's Corp. third-quarter profit, and led the company to raise its outlook for the rest of the year.

Moody's, which provides credit rating and market research and analysis, on Thursday posted an 11 percent decline for the September quarter, earning $100.6 million, or 42 cents per share, compared with $113 million, or 46 cents per share, a year ago. There were fewer outstanding shares this quarter than last year.

Excluding restructuring charges, Moody's earned 43 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected profit of 38 cents per share.

Revenue rose 4 percent to $451.8 million, topping analysts' forecast of $417.2 million.

Moody's Investors Services, the company's credit-rating arm, took in 68 percent of the company's revenue, or $305.5 million, up 3 percent from last year. Most of the increase came from the unit's corporate-finance division. Moody's said U.S. corporate-finance revenue increased 35 percent, mostly because of increased activity in the high-yield bond market. International revenue for the division rose 27 percent, largely due to European securities.

The Moody's Analytics unit got a boost from higher software sales, and revenue rose 7 percent to $146.5 million.

The company cited continued strength in corporate-debt issuance for raising its outlook for the year. It now expects profit between $1.60 and $1.68 per share, up from its previous forecast of $1.45 to $1.55 per share. Analysts forecast 2009 profit at $1.58 per share, with estimates ranging from $1.52 to $1.64 per share.

Moody's shares advanced 48 cents to $25.10 in morning trading.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.