MSCI 3Q profit rises, revenue declines

MSCI third-quarter profit rises on lower expenses, revenue declines

• On 6:55 pm EDT, Thursday October 1, 2009

NEW YORK (AP) -- MSCI Inc., which provides investment decision support tools, said Thursday that its fiscal third-quarter profit rose 11 percent due to lower operating expenses. Revenue declined, however, because of a drop in subscription revenue.

The company's shares fell $2.48, or 8.4 percent, to finish trading at $27.14 in a market that was broadly lower.

For the quarter that ended August 31, MSCI earned $20.9 million, or 20 cents per share, compared with $18.9 million, or 19 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. When excluding certain items, the company earned 28 cents per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who generally exclude one-time items from their estimates, expected a profit of 29 cents per share.

Revenue dipped 1.4 percent to $108.9 million from $110.4 million. Analysts expected revenue of $111.7 million.

Subscription revenue declined nearly 4 percent to $88.7 million, while equity index asset-based fees rose 10 percent to $20.1 million.

Operating expenses declined 2.5 percent to $71.1 million.