UPDATE 2-FTI Q2 tops Street, reaffirms 2008 view; shares fall
(Recasts; adds analyst comment, conference call details, share movement)
BANGALORE, Aug 6 (Reuters) - FTI Consulting Inc (FCN.N) reported quarterly profit that topped Wall Street estimates, helped by robust demand for its consulting services, but its shares fell 14 percent as investors were disappointed that the company did not raise its outlook.
"There is probably a bit of disappointment that (raising outlook) didn't happen on the back of a strong second-quarter report," analyst William Sutherland of Boenning & Scattergood Inc told Reuters.
For 2008, the company said it still sees earnings of $2.50 to $2.63 a share, on revenue of $1.30 billion to $1.38 billion.
FTI Consulting also said it expects third-quarter earnings to be hurt by 2 cents to 4 cents a share from acquisition and amortization expenses.
Separately, FTI said it intends to sell a minority interest in the technology segment in an initial public offering and expects proceeds of about $600 million to $700 million.
The company said it plans to file the registration statement for the IPO by the end of the year.
The proceeds from the offering will be primarily used to repay debt, while a part of the proceeds will be retained by the technology business, the company said.
Shares of the company fell to a low of $62, before paring some losses to trade down 6 percent at $67.80 Wednesday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock had risen 60 percent in the last 12 months.
STRONG QUARTER
Net income for the second quarter was $35.4 million, or 66 cents a share, compared with $23.1 million, or 53 cents a share, in the year-ago period.
Revenue for the quarter rose 41 percent to $337.7 million.
Analysts expected a profit of 60 cents a share on revenue of $332.4 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
"The impact of global credit constraints continues to spread, driving increased demand from clients to preserve their organizations' business results, wealth and reputations," Chief Executive Jack Dunn said.
Sales from the finance and restructuring segment rose more than 52 percent to $96.1 million, becoming the biggest contributor to total revenue. Technology segment reported sales of $56.3 million. (Reporting by Sweta Singh; Editing by Jarshad Kakkrakandy, Deepak Kannan)
