Santa Ana-based for-profit education company Corinthian Colleges Inc. swung to a profit in the September quarter, notching $1.6 million in net income compared with a loss of $9.6 million a year earlier.
The gains fell short of Wall Street expectations; analysts on average had expected profit of about $3.4 million.
Revenue for the company’s fiscal first quarter was $408.6 million, an increase of 2.6% from the same period last year. Analysts had estimated revenue of $433.3 million.
Corinthian operates about 120 colleges under the Everest, Heald and WyoTech brands.
Total student population at Corinthian schools as of September was 92,070, up about 1% from a year-ago total of 91,107 individuals.
The number of new students grew by a wider margin—3.5%—to 31,458.
Corinthian said it expects revenue for the current quarter to range between $402 million and $412 million. It’s projecting a profit in the $4.3 million to $6 million range.
It’s also expecting to close three schools in the current quarter, a continuation of cost-cutting efforts that have trimmed about 10 schools in the past year.
Investors sent Corinthian’s shares up more than 10% during early trading to a market value of about $230.3 million, reflecting a positive outlook helped by the company’s new-student gains and cost-management plans.
