Irvine-based Resources Connection Inc., a provider of accountants and other professionals to companies on a project basis, reported a bigger than expected loss for its recently ended quarter.

Resources Connection said it lost $7.2 million in the three months through Aug. 29, reversing a profit of $12.5 million a year earlier.

Analysts had been looking for a loss of $1.8 million on average.

Shares of Resources Connection were off about 4% in afterhours trading on a market value of about $765 million.

Revenue for the quarter fell 43% from a year earlier to $118.3 million, disappointing analysts who were looking for sales of $120 million.

The company said international revenue was cut by half in the quarter from a year earlier, spurring the loss and lower sales.

Without the effect of exchange rates, global revenue was off 46% from a year earlier.

Resources Connection continues to retrench as a turnaround in business at the company’s corporate customers has been slow to realize.

“We are refocusing on the basics of our business and taking unnecessary costs out of the company,” Chief Executive Don Murray said.

Murray, the company’s founder, returned to the chief executive’s role in July with the departure of Thomas Christopoul, who ran Resources Connection for about a year.

The company didn’t offer an outlook for the current three months through November.

“While the timing and strength of the global economic recovery is still uncertain, we are continuing our focus on business development with new and existing clients,” said Tony Cherbak, chief operating officer.