DeVry Education Misses Q4 Estimates

reported weaker-than-expected results for its fiscal fourth quarter on Tuesday. The Downers Grove, Illinois-based company reported a quarterly profit of $29.9 million, or $0.46 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $37.5 million, or $0.58 per share. Excluding items, the company's earnings from continuing operations slipped to $0.57 per share from $0.73 per share. Its revenue fell 2.5 percent to $473.2 million. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.61 per share on revenue of $478.56 million. Medical and Healthcare segment revenue gained 8 percent year-over-year to $214.1 million in the recent quarter, while International and Professional Education segment revenue climbed 15.5 percent to $83.3 million. Business, Technology and Management segment revenue dipped 18.3 percent to $176.4 million for the quarter. Total students increased 20.2 percent to 135,308, while new students declined 1.3 percent to 10,726. As of June 30, 2015, the company had $353 million in cash and cash equivalents. "Driven by our diversification into healthcare and international institutions, DeVry Group continued to grow total postsecondary enrollments in fiscal 2015, while making progress in repositioning DeVry University," said Daniel Hamburger, DeVry Group's president and CEO. "Despite near-term market challenges, DeVry Group's five-year strategic plan positions us to deliver strong student outcomes, attractive growth, and significant value creation." For the current quarter, the company projects revenue to drop 5 percent year-over-year. For FY16, DeVry projects earnings before special items to be flat to slightly up year-over-year and revenue to drop 5 percent. DeVry shares dipped 7.39 percent to $25.05 in the after-hours trading session.