Coinstar revises 4th-quarter and 2009 results down to reflect legal settlement of 2005 suit

Coinstar revises 4Q profit down on settlement

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Coinstar Inc., the company that places coin counting and other machines in supermarkets and convenience stores, on Tuesday revised its financial results for 2009 due to a legal settlement.

Coinstar said it settled an a suit on Friday involving a subsidiary of its E-payment services business that was filed by Apparel Sales Inc. in 2005. Coinstar will pay $4 million to Apparel Sales, which agreed to dismiss its complaint.

Coinstar said it had previously accrued for $500,000 of the settlement, and therefore, $3.5 million of expense, or 7 cents per share, must be accounted for.

As a result, Coinstar revised its profit for the last three months of 2009 down to $3.4 million, or 11 cents per share, from the previously reported $5.5 million, or 18 cents per share.

For the full year 2009, the company now says it earned $53.7 million, or $1.76 per share, down from $55.8 million, or $1.83 per share prior to the settlement.

The company maintained its first-quarter and 2010 guidance.

For the quarter, Coinstar forecast revenue between $315 million and $335 million, and profit between 8 cents and 14 cents per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, expect revenue of $327.1 million, with estimates falling between $316 million and $341 million. Analysts predict profit of 18 cents per share, with estimates ranging from 10 cents to 30 cents per share.

For the full year, Coinstar guided for revenue of between $1.47 billion and $1.57 billion for the year, and profit in the range of $1.50 and $1.65 per share.

Analysts are expecting full-year revenue of $1.51 billion, with estimates ranging from $1.48 billion and $1.54 billion. Wall Street predicts average profit of $1.58 per share, with estimates ranging from $1.47 to $1.75.