Rising unemployment continues to bolster Santa Ana-based vocational school operator Corinthian Colleges Inc., which reported better than expected quarterly results and upped its outlook for the current quarter on Tuesday.
The company’s shares were up 10% at close of trading on a market value of $1.8 billion.
For the three months through December, Corinthian reported a profit of $15.1 million, up 87% from a year earlier.
Income from continuing operations, which excludes schools closed by the company, was $15.5 million, up 63% from a year earlier.
Wall Street analysts had been looking for a profit of $13.3 million
Revenue was up 18% to $318.3 million, topping the $310.1 million expected by analysts.
The results were driven by laid-off workers and other students looking to acquire new skills during the recession.
New student starts,which measures students who enroll and then show up for classes,rose 16.2% in the December quarter.
For the current quarter, Corinthian forecast student start growth of 12% to 14%.
“As unemployment rises, more people seek post-secondary education and training,” Chief Executive Jack Massimino said.
For the current quarter, Corinthian said it now expects profits of $19.5 million to $21.3 million.
Analysts had been looking for a profit of $18.6 million.
The company now expects revenue of $329 million to $334 million.
Analysts had expected revenue of $322 million.
Corinthian also said a federal investigation of its campus in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is nearly complete with no further action expected.
Federal investigators raided the campus in 2007 in what a Miami Herald report said was a probe to try to “identify waste, fraud and abuse of federal education dollars.”
