Korn/Ferry’s Quarter Beats Expectations

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Korn/Ferry International Inc.’s shares jumped nearly 9 percent Wednesday morning after the executive search company reported both better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and guidance for the current quarter.

The Los Angeles staffing company reported net income of $13.7 million (30 cents a share) for the quarter ended Oct. 31, compared with $2.8 million (6 cents) a year earlier. Fee revenue rose 32 percent to $185 million. The average fee rose 4 percent and the number of searches rose 28 percent.

“After meeting with many of our clients’ CEOs over the last several months, it’s evident that we are experiencing a two-speed labor recovery – global vs. local,” Chief Executive Gary D. Burnison said in a statement. “Global enterprises are investing, hiring and expanding, while organizations more reliant on Western economies for growth have remained more cautious.”

Excluding one-time restructuring charges, the company had per-share-profit of 33 cents. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average were expecting adjusted profit of 24 cents on revenue of less than $179 million. Analysts at Robert W. Baird raised their recommendation on the company’s stock from “neutral” to “outperform.”

Korn/Ferry said that for the current quarter it expected per-share profit of 25 to 32 cents earnings on revenue of $175 to $190 million. Analysts on average were expecting 24 cents profit on revenue of less than $180 million.

Shares closed up $3.02 to $20.26 on the New York Stock Exchange.

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