As Usual, The Going Got Tough In The First Quarter For H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB)

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) stock was bid 2.41 percent softer while on lighter trading volume in premarket trading on Friday in relation to its previous closing,  as the most prominent tax-preparation concern confirmed crashing to a wider fiscal first quarter loss than Wall Street expected. The firm said the lag was aggravated by the costs that were incurred upon the acquisition of a south-western franchise operation in 2008, and rather subdued business in its tax services segment.

  In the three months period to July, H&R tripped to a consolidated net loss of $133.6 million (40 cents per share), slightly outpacing a loss of $132.7 million (41 cents per share) that was booked in the matching period of last year. Net loss from continuing operations during the quarter under scrutiny ballooned at $130.6 million (39 cents per share), compared to $128.4 million in the prior year first quarter, and a 37 cents per share loss which the analysts’ estimates called for.

  Total revenues for the May – July quarter improved by 1.3 percent to $275.5 million from $271.9 million of a year ago period. All the same, the figure for the recently ended period increased at an easy-going pace on a year-over-year basis in comparison to a street view of $280.05 million.

  More often than not, the U.S tax filling business sees a pickup during the season of collecting revenue from the tax returns, ending April 15. Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. (NYSE: JTX), one of H&R’s rivals in the sector also posted a widened fiscal 2010 first quarter loss of $21.84 million (76 cents per share), from a previous year loss of $20.54 million (72 cents per share). In the same fashion, the firm’s revenues were firmer on $5.05 million over the period, against $4.29 million recorded in 2008.

   Even with a fresh quarterly loss, H&R Block said it’s still expecting to touch on the previously estimated target range of between $1.60 and $1.80 per share in profit from continuing operations for the full fiscal 2010.


  Reference:
http://www.hrblock.com/