Moody's Beats Q1 Estimates

Moody's Corporation MCO reported stronger-than-expected results for the first quarter on Friday. The New York-based company reported a quarterly profit of $230 million, or $1.11 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $218 million, or $1 per share. Its revenue gained 13 percent to $865.6 million from $767.2 million. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $1.03 per share on revenue of $828 million. The average estimate among 8 Estimize users was for earnings of $1.05 per share and revenue of $832.49 million. Revenue from the Moody's Investors Service unit rose 14 percent to $602.3 million during the quarter, while revenue from Moody's Analytics division climbed 11 percent to $263.3 million. U.S. revenue climbed 17 percent year-over-year to $499.8 million in the quarter, while non-U.S. revenue rose 7 percent to $365.8 million. Its operating income climbed 12 percent to $371.3 million, while operating expense increased 14 percent to $494.3 million. During first-quarter, the company repurchased 3.8 million shares at a total cost of $365.8 million. "Moody's first-quarter 2015 revenue increased 13% year over year, reflecting double-digit growth from both Moody's Investors Service and Moody's Analytics," said Raymond McDaniel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Moody's. "We are reaffirming our full-year 2015 earnings per share guidance of $4.55 to $4.65 despite our expectations for uneven global growth as well as the strength of the U.S. dollar at current exchange rates." Moody's reaffirmed its outlook for the year. It projects earnings of $4.55 to $4.65 per share. Moody's shares rose 0.07 percent to close at $107.52 yesterday.