Blackboard Shares Fall 9 Pct On Guidance

WASHINGTON (AP) — Blackboard Inc., which makes online-education software, offered lower-than-expected guidance Wednesday, sending the shares down more than 9 percent after hours, while revealing it has agreed to buy a company called Angel Learning for $95 million.

Blackboard's first-quarter sales jumped 26 percent to $86.4 million, topping analysts' projection of $85 million.

It posted a net loss of $37,000, or break-even on a per-share basis. Excluding employee stock compensation and other special items, Blackboard would have made 27 cents per share, which was better than the average estimate of 25 cents per share from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, whose estimates are calculated on that same basis.

Last year, Blackboard lost $4.4 million, or 15 cents per share, in the same quarter.

For the second quarter, Blackboard expects sales of $87.5 million to $90.5 million, and profit of 20 cents per share to 26 cents per share, excluding special items. Analysts expected $90.5 million in sales and 35 cents per share in profit.

For all of 2009, the company sees revenue of $365.5 million to $374.5 million, with profit of $1.21 per share to $1.38 per share, excluding special items. Analysts had previously forecast $368.5 million in sales and $1.44 per share in profit.