CRA International reports Q3 earnings below the Street
CRA International, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRAI), a provider of economic, financial, and management consulting services, this morning reported fiscal third quarter earnings below the consensus on Wall Street.
For the third quarter ended Aug. 31, 2007, the Boston, Mass.-based firm recorded net income of $8.6 million, or $0.72 per diluted share, compared with net income of $8.7 million, or $0.71 per diluted share, in the third quarter of fiscal 2006. Four analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting earnings of $0.80 per share on average.
CRA booked revenue of $124.3 million, a 16.2% increase over last year’s revenue of $107.0 million. Two analysts polled by Thomson Financial were anticipating revenues of $117.21 million.
The small cap attributed the increase in revenue to significant contributions in several of its U.S.-led practice areas including Competition, Transfer Pricing and Finance, noting that the “the growth was almost entirely organic.”
CRA also provided guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. The company said it expects revenue growth in the range of 10% to 12% for the year. On the earnings front, the firm’s previous guidance previously called for annual net income growth in the mid to high teens percent range, and an EPS growth rate in the range of 12% to 18% over fiscal 2006. CRA said it expects to be at the low end of that range for net income growth and the middle part of the range for EPS growth. Two analysts polled by Thomson Financial are on average forecasting EPS of $2.62 on revenues of $385.58 million for the fiscal year.
Shares of CRAI were halted in pre-market trading.
