Funeral and cemetery services provider Stewart Enterprises Inc. (STEI), Wednesday said its profit for the third quarter doubled from a year ago, driven mainly by a multimillion-dollar settlement related to Hurricane Katrina damages. However, on an adjusted basis, earnings and revenues for the quarter fell short of the Street expectations.
Jefferson, Louisiana-based Stewart's net earnings for the quarter jumped to $12.0 million or $0.13 per share from $6.0 million or $0.06 per share in the prior-year period.
The third quarter results were positively impacted by a $12.4 million litigation settlement related to Hurricane Katrina damages.
Excluding these one-time items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $6.9 million or $0.07 per share, compared to $6.3 million or $0.07 per share last year. On average, four analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.09 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates usually exclude one-time gains and losses.
Revenues for the quarter grew to $124.4 million from $122.6 million in the prior year quarter. However, this was short of analysts' consensus estimate of $126.90 million for the quarter.
Funeral revenues for the quarter advanced 3.1 percent to 68.8 million, fueled by increases in average revenue per funeral service and same-store calls.
Cemetery revenues dropped 0.5 percent to $55.6 million for the quarter, due primarily to a $0.7 million decrease in construction during the period on various cemetery projects, coupled with a $0.3 million reduction in finance charges.
STEI closed Wednesday's trading on the Nasdaq at $5.92, up $0.16 or 2.78%, on a volume of 0.8 million shares. The stock further gained 1.35% in after-hours trade.
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