(RTTNews) - Thursday, Corinthian Colleges, Inc.(COCO: News ), a post-secondary education company, reported an increase in first quarter profit, reflecting a rise in student population. The company also provided guidance for the second quarter and raised its outlook for the full-year.

Corinthian's net income rose to $32.91 million or $0.37 per share, compared to $5.49 million or $0.06 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Income from continuing operations increased to $32.9 million or $0.37 per share from $5.7 million or $0.07 per share in the year-ago period.

On average, 14 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.28 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Total revenue for the quarter was $388.47 million, up from $289.58 million in the same quarter last year. Analysts estimated revenues of $377.88 million for the quarter.

The Santa Ana, California- based company said that the total students population grew 25.9% to 93,493 from 74,265 and total population of the new student was 36,737, up 22.2% from 30,075 the the year-ago period.

Peter Waller, chief executive officer said,"Recession helps drive enrollment growth, but it also creates challenges in terms of career placement and student loan repayment. In the first quarter we continued to make substantial investments in both of these areas, to help graduates achieve their career goals and meet their financial obligations in a difficult economy."
Operating income for the quarter increased to $53.9 million from $10.1 million and total operating expense was up to $334.58 million from $279.51 million in the same quarter last year.

The company added that it expects the acquisition of Heald Capital, LLC, the parent company of Heald College, to add to the growth in the second quarter. The agreement for $395.0 million in cash, subject to certain working capital items is expected to close on March 31,2010.

For the second quarter, the company expects earnings per share to be in the range of $0.37 - $0.40, on revenues in the range of $395 million - $405 million. Analysts estimate earnings of $0.32 per share, on revenues of $396.83 million. Start growth is expected to be 10% - 12% over last year.

For fiscal 2010, Corinthians raised its start growth to 11% - 13% from previous guidance of 10% - 12%. Earnings per share is now expected to be in the range of $1.55 - $1.60 from previous range of $1.30 - $1.36. Total revenues are currently projected in the range of $1.62 billion - $1.64 billion compared to previous guidance of $1.58 billion - $1.60 billion. Analysts expect full-year earnings of $1.35 per share, on revenues of $1.61 billion.

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