Monster 1Q beats Street; 2Q sales forecast upbeat
Monster 1st-quarter profit tops Street estimates; 2nd-quarter sales seen rising
NEW YORK (AP) -- Monster Worldwide posted a bigger-than expected first-quarter profit Thursday as it cut costs faster than revenue declined and it benefited from a tax adjustment. Shares jumped 15 percent.
Net income in the three months ending March 31 came to $3.7 million, or 3 cents per share, compared with net income of $78,000, or break even per share profits, a year ago.
Excluding a restructuring charge and a one-time tax adjustment, adjusted earnings came to 4 cents per share, beating the 2 cents per share expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet.
Revenue fell 6 percent to $246.1 million from $261.4 million. That was still better than the $240 million expected by analysts.
The company said bookings in the first quarter rose 5 percent from a year ago to $274 million.
It expects second-quarter earnings of 4 to 8 cents per share, evenly bracketing the 6 cents expected by analysts. It also forecast second-quarter revenue to decline 4 to 8 percent, implying revenue of $238.3 million to $248.6 million. The midpoint of $243.4 million is slightly better than the $242 million analysts were looking for.
Shares of Monster Worldwide Inc. rose $1.23 to $9.39 in midday trading Thursday.
