Research firm Corporate Executive Board posts 4Q profit; weak forecast hits shares

Corporate Executive Board posts 4Q profit

ARLINGTON, Va. — Business research firm Corporate Executive Board Co. reported better fourth-quarter profit and revenue than expected, but its shares fell Wednesday after the company warned that 2010 won’t be as robust.

The company reported late Tuesday that it earned $13.4 million, or 39 cents per share, in the quarter that ended in December. That compares with a loss of $5.8 million, or 17 cents per share, in the period a year earlier, when the company recorded $27.5 million in impairment costs.

Backing out one-time items, the company earned 40 cents per share in the 2009 quarter, compared with a profit of 45 cents per share a year earlier, the company said.

The results topped the forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters for profit of 24 cents per share. Analysts generally exclude one-time charges.

Analysts also forecast quarterly revenue of $101.3 million, while the company reported revenue of $108 million for the quarter.

For the year, Corporate Executive Board earned $45.6 million, or $1.33 per share, compared with $44.8 million, or $1.30 per share, in 2008. Revenue fell 21 percent to $442.9 million. Analysts had forecast profit of $1.52 per share on revenue of $435.33 million.

But the company warned that this year’s earnings and revenue will fall below expectations as its corporate clients continue to spend cautiously.

The company, which provides research and analyses of business problems, expects to earn 85 cents per share to $1.10 per share for all of 2010, excluding one-time items. It expects to post revenue of $385 million to $405 million.

Analysts are forecasting earnings of $1.23 per share and revenue of $418.2 million for the year.

Corporate Executive Board also raised its quarterly dividend by a penny to 11 cents per share, payable on March 31 to stockholders on record as of March 15.

Shares of Corporate Executive Board, based in Arlington, Va., fell $1.64, or 7.2 percent, to close Wednesday at $21.29.