SkillSoft 4th-qtr net income falls 15 percent amid revenue decline ahead of $1.1 bln buyout

SkillSoft 4Q net income falls 16 pct

NASHUA, N.H. — SkillSoft PLC, an education software company that has agreed to be taken private, said Thursday its fourth-quarter net income fell 16 percent from a year earlier, when it benefited from a tax windfall.

Its revenue also fell, by 2 percent to $79.2 million from $80.5 million.

Skillsoft’s net income in the three months that ended Jan. 31 fell to $15.8 million, or 16 cents per share, from $18.8 million, or 18 cents per share a year earlier.

A $5.1 million non-cash charge for taxes more than reversed a $600,000 benefit the company recorded in the same period last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected Skillsoft to report earning 15 cents per share on $78.2 million in revenue.

In February, the company said it agreed to be purchased for about $1.1 billion, or $10.80 per share in cash, by a private investor group made up of Berkshire Partners LLC, Advent International Corp. and Bain Capital Partners LLC.

Skillsoft shares rose 4 cents to $10.75 after hours Thursday after closing down 55 cents, or 4.9 percent, at $10.71.

The company did not issue guidance for the first quarter or the current fiscal year.

For the full year that ended Jan. 31, its net income rose 41 percent to $71.4 million, or 72 cents per share, from $50.8 million, or 47 cents per share the prior year. Revenue fell 4 percent to $315.0 million from $328.5 million.