Robert Half Tops Ests

Robert Half International Inc. (RHI - Analyst Report), a leading staffing and risk consulting services provider across the globe, reported a net income of $9.5 million or 6 cents per share for the third quarter, compared to $65.8 million or 42 cents per share in the year-earlier quarter. The company’s earnings exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimates by 2 cents, primarily due to a 33% decrease in operating expenses.
 
During the quarter, Robert Half reported revenues of $726 million – a 37% decline from the year-ago period and a 3% decline from the second quarter of 2009, with decrease in revenues across all the segments. Cash flow from operations totaled $67 million during the quarter.
 
Robert Half paid a cash dividend of 12 cents per share during the quarter for a total of $18 million. The company also repurchased 1.2 million common shares for a total of $32 million during the quarter, and an additional 7.1 million shares currently remain available for repurchase under its share repurchase program. At quarter end, Robert Half had cash and cash equivalents of $407.6 million compared to $373.7 million in the year-earlier quarter.
 
Recent employment trends are not encouraging as the U.S. economy continues to shed jobs at a rapid pace. Till date, the U.S. lost about 7.2 million jobs since the start of recession in December 2007. The national unemployment rate also surged to 9.8%. As the U.S. economy struggles with the economic downturn, Robert Half expects its fourth quarter revenues to be in the range of $675 million to $725 million with net income varying from 1 cent per share to 6 cents.