H&R Block Squarely Beats Estimates

The company also reported that the average fee for retail tax returns increased 7.2 percent, reflecting more complex returns and a shift towards more affluent customers.

Revenue from RSM McGladrey, the company's business accounting arm, declined 4 percent to $304.9 million.

H&R Block has restructured some of its operations over the past year in a move to lower costs and improve responsiveness to market conditions. The company divested its troubled mortgage and securities brokerage business units, and last month said it would merge its retail tax, digital tax, franchise and field tax operations under the direct oversight of President and CEO Russ Smyth, as well as change its pricing and brand.

For fiscal 2009, the company said it earned $485.7 million, or $1.45 per share, compared with a loss of $308.6 million, or 94 cents per share, during the same period a year ago. Excluding discontinued operations, the company said it would have earned $1.53 per share, compared with $1.36 in the year-ago period.

Analysts, which typically exclude one-time items and discontinued operations from their estimates, had expected full-year earnings of $1.47 per share.

Annual revenue remained flat at $4.1 billion, slighly below the $4.2 billion expected by analysts.

Looking ahead, H&R Block forecast 2010 annual earnings between $1.60 and $1.80 per share, compared with analysts' $1.66-per-share average estimate.

The company released its earnings results after trading closed Monday. The report sent shares up 70 cents, or 4.5 percent, to $16.37 in aftermarket electronic trading, having finished the regular session up 25 cents at $15.67.