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H&R Block (HRB) Steady after Results

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H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) shares are steady in morning trade after the company reported a quarterly loss versus expectations for a profit. The company’s results were affected by increased marketing costs.

H&R Block (HRB) said net loss from continuing operations for the three months ended Jan. 31 was $3.57 million, or 1 cent a share, compared with a loss of $11 million, or 4 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier. This was lower than analyst consensus estimates that were looking for a profit of 7 cents a share. Total revenues fell 2.5 percent to $663.3 million.

Total U.S. tax returns prepared fiscal year-to-date through Feb. 28 grew 5.1 percent compared to the prior year. Total retail returns prepared increased 1.6 percent for the comparable period. Total digital tax returns increased 12.6 percent, including a 20.4 percent increase in online filings.


Due to the seasonality of its Tax Services business segment, the company normally reports an operating loss for the first nine months of its fiscal year. For the nine months ended Jan. 31, 2012, the company reported a net loss from continuing operations of $245.7 million, or $0.82 per share, compared with a prior year loss of $250.3 million, or $0.80 cents per share. Nine-month revenues fell 0.7 percent to $893.1 million.

“With the first half of the tax season now behind us, I am pleased by the 5 percent growth in U.S. tax returns prepared to date,” said Bill Cobb, H&R Block’s (HRB) president and chief executive officer. “We continue to work to position the company for long-term growth in revenue and earnings.”

H&R Block spent $121 million on advertising last year, the most among tax preparers and a 7 percent increase from 2010, according to Nielsen Holdings NV data, which exclude Internet and business-to-business marketing. This as the company attempts to recapture market share from competitors such as Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU).

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edliston
Post Written By: Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.


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Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing.

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