Staffing firm Kforce reports 4Q profit, despite revenue declines in most segments

Kforce reports 4Q profit, even as sales slide

TAMPA, Fla. — Staffing services firm Kforce Inc. said Tuesday that it squeezed out a profit in the fourth quarter, even as revenue fell from the year-ago period.

The company said it earned $3.5 million, or 9 cents per diluted share, in the period ended Dec. 31, compared to a loss of $107.9 million, or $2.81 per share, in the same quarter in 2008. Last year’s results included a number of one-time charges.

Kforce specializes in providing workers in fields such as technology, accounting and health and life sciences.

Nearly all of the company’s main business segments reported lower revenues in the quarter, with the exception of government solutions, which booked a 34 percent increase.

Total revenue fell to $224.6 million, down 6.8 percent from $240.9 million in the comparable period a year ago. Revenue in the company’s largest operating segment, technology, fell 7.2 percent to $119.5 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn 9 cents per share on sales of $224.6 million.

For the full year, Kforce earned $12.9 million, or 33 cents per share, compared with a loss of $84.1 million, or $2.13 per share, last year.

Full-year revenue fell to $910.1 million from $997 million in 2008.

Looking ahead, the company said it expects to earn 4 cents to 7 cents in the first quarter of 2010. It predicts revenue to range from $224 million to $232 million in the period.

In after-hours trading, shares rose 19 cents to $14.10. The stock has traded between $5.44 and $15.89 over the past 52 weeks.