DeVry Inc. (DV) registered fourth-quarter 2010 earnings of 99 cents per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 82 cents by 20.7% and the year-ago earnings of 51 cents by 94.1%.
The upbeat results came in the wake of successful implementations of growth and diversification strategies, improvement in academic quality and successful student enrollments.
For fiscal 2010, earnings shot up by 69.7% to $3.87 per share, compared with $2.28 in the year-ago quarter. The improvement followed ongoing investments to enhance academic quality, improve student services and build platform to grow in the future.
On a year ago basis, total sales jumped 27.9% and 31.0% to $506.7 million and $1,915.2 million for the reported quarter and fiscal year, respectively. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues stood at $489 million and $1,898 million for the quarter and fiscal 2010, respectively.
In terms of segments, Business, Technology and Management grew 32.3% to $332.2 million, while Medical and Healthcare as well as Professional Education spiked 23.5% to $131.5 million and 8.9% to $26.0 million, respectively. The Other Educational Services segment recorded a growth of 15.2% to $17.0 million in the quarter.
DeVry’s operating income rose 1.9% to $100.6 million in the quarter from $53.7 million a year earlier. DeVry exited the year with cash, marketable securities and investment balances of $323.4 million, and no outstanding debt. Total shareholders’ equity was $1,179.4 million at the end of fiscal 2010.
For fiscal 2010, DeVry generated $391.5 million of cash from operating activities, boosted by strong operating results.
DeVry repurchased 321,521 shares at an average price of $59.09 for a total of $19.0 million in the quarter. As part of the current authorization, the company has repurchased 422,021 shares at an average price of $60.11 for a total consideration of $25.4 million until the third quarter.
In the quarter, DeVry’s Board approved a share repurchase authorization worth $50 million until June 30, 2012. This marks the fourth share repurchase initiative taken by the Board of Directors. The program will commence upon the completion of the existing $50 million share repurchase program.
DeVry shares maintain a Zacks #4 Rank, which translates into a short-term ‘Sell’ recommendation. Our long-term recommendation for the stock remains Outperform.
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