Kelly Services profit beats on North America demand

(Reuters) - Staffing company Kelly Services Inc (KELYA.O) posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on the strength of its North American business, sending its shares up as much as 10 percent.

Second-quarter earnings from continuing operations fell to $15 million, or 40 cents per share, from $20 million, or 53 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding restructuring charges, the company earned 34 cents per share.

Revenue fell 3 percent to $1.36 billion.

Analysts expected earnings of 30 cents per share on revenue of $1.41 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Americas revenue rose 2.4 percent in the June quarter. Revenue from Europe, Middle East and Africa fell 8 percent, while Asia-Pacific revenue declined 13 percent.

Shares of the company were up 10 percent at $13.48 on Wednesday morning on the Nasdaq.

(Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane)