Santa Ana-based vocational school operator Corinthian Colleges Inc. posted better-than-expected quarterly results and upped its outlook for the current quarter.
Shares of Corinthian closed up more than 7% Tuesday on a market value of $1.6 billion.
For the current quarter, Corinthian forecast a profit of $22.9 million to $25.6 million, well ahead of the $14 million Wall Street analysts had been expecting on average.
The company sees revenue coming in at $375 million to $385 million, versus Wall Street’s expectation of $347.2 million.
Corinthian runs schools offering training in healthcare, criminal justice and automotive repair.
The company has seen a surge in enrollment amid the recession as laid-off workers look to retraining as a way of finding new work.
For the current quarter, Corinthian forecast growth in student starts,students who enroll and show up for class,of 15% to 17%.
“The recession helped increase our growth momentum,” Chief Executive Peter Waller said.
For the three months through June 30, Corinthian earned $23.2 million, versus a loss of $620,000 a year earlier.
Analysts were expecting a profit of $22.3 million.
Revenue rose 29% to $353.5 million and beat expectations of $342.8 million.
