Pitney Bowes profit jumps 33 pct, but falls short of Wall Street forecasts

Pitney Bowes profit jumps 33 pct

STAMFORD, Conn. — Pitney Bowes Inc. said Thursday that its quarterly profit jumped 33 percent despite a revenue decline. Significantly lower expenses helped the mailing-equipment maker offset the sales shortfall, but the numbers were below Wall Street’s forecasts.

The company reaffirmed its 2010 forecast, and shares rose after-hours.

Murray Martin, the company’s CEO, said in a statement that cost cuts and better productivity were two factors that helped offset revenue declines. Martin said revenue and profit margins improved in most of the company’s divisions compared with the last quarter.

Net income was $98.6 million, or 47 cents per share, in the last three months of 2009. That compares with $74.0 million, or 36 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Excluding items, the company earned 64 cents per share, short of the 72 cents per share that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting.

Revenue fell 6 percent to $1.45 billion, slightly below analysts’ projections for $1.46 billion.

It expects revenue to be flat to up 3 percent in 2010, which implies a range of $5.57 billion to $5.74 billion. Profit is expected to be $2.30 per share to $2.50 per share, excluding restructuring charges and other one-time items.

Shares rose 15 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $21.30 in extended trading, after the results were reported. They had fallen 24 cents, or 1.1 percent, to close the regular session at $21.30.