On Assignment’s Stock Boosted by Earnings

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Shares of On Assignment Inc. jumped more the 19 percent Friday after the professional staffing firm reported first-quarter profit and gave a forecast for the current quarter that beat Wall Street’s expectations.

The Calabasas company, which specializes in the medical, life science, information technology and engineering industries, reported net income of $3.2 million (8 cents per share), compared with a loss of $302,000 (-1 cent) a year earlier.

Revenue rose 34 percent to more than $129 million, including $2 million from its recent acquisition of Valesta, a Belgian firm that fills clinical research positions. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average expected per-share profit of 6 cents on revenue of less than $123 million.

Best known for its health care sector expertise, On Assignment’s engineering and IT division accounted for nearly half of revenue, jumping 68 percent to $60 million in the quarter. In the medical sector, the life sciences staffing revenue rose 43 percent to $33 million and health care staffing grew 7 percent to $19.8 million. Only physician staffing was off.

“This marks the first period in two years that (nearly) all of our divisions have seen positive demand for their services,” Chief Executive Peter Dameris said in a statement. “(It) strengthens our outlook for continued growth and operating leverage.”

For the second quarter, On Assignment expects to earn 13 cents to 14 cents per share on revenue of $142 million to $145 million. The Wall Street consensus had been for profit of 9 cents per share on revenue of less than $129 million.

Shares closed up $1.78, or 19 percent, to $10.99 on the Nasdaq.