(RTTNews) - Dice Holdings, Inc. (DHX: News ), a provider of specialized career websites for professional communities, Wednesday reported a decline in profit for the third quarter, reflecting a decline in revenue from DCS Online and eFinancialCareers segments. The company' per share earnings topped analysts' estimates by 3 cents.

Dice Holdings' income from continuing operations for the third quarter declined to $3.00 million or $0.05 per share from $6.37 million or $0.10 per share in the previous year.

On average, eight analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.02 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenues for the quarter declined 33% to $26.73 million from $39.64 million a year ago. The company said that the lower revenues were due to a decline in recruitment activity which impacted both Dice.com and eFinancialCareers. Further, currency translation from pound sterling to U.S. dollars negatively impacted revenues by $0.9 million or 2% from the same quarter in 2008.

Seven analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $25.11 million for the third quarter.

By segment, DCS Online reported revenues of $19.46 million, compared to $27.20 million last year. Revenue from eFinancialCareers declined to $5.82 million from $9.86 million a year ago. Other revenues declined to $1.46 million from $2.58 million in the previous year.

Total operating expenses declined to $20.80 million from $28.60 million last year. Sales and marketing expense for the quarter declined $6.1 million or 42% from the same quarter a year ago.
Interest income for the quarter declined to $37 thousand from $528 thousand in the earlier year.

For the nine-month period, net income declined to $9.64 million or $0.15 per share from $18.21 million or $0.28 per share in the same period of the previous year. Revenues for the period declined to $83.31 million from $119.49 million last year.

Looking forward, the company expects fourth quarter earnings of $2.7 million on revenues of $25 million. Analysts currently expect the company to report earnings of $0.03 per share on revenues of $24.11 million for the quarter.

For the fiscal 2009, earnings are expected to be $12.5 million on revenues of $108.3 million. Analysts currently expect earnings of $0.15 per share on revenues of $105.98 million for the full year.

DHX is currently trading at $6.78, up 0.33 or 5.12%, on a volume of 82K shares on the NYSE.

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by RTT Staff Writer

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