SWS Group Fiscal 4Q Profit Falls On Charge

DALLAS (AP) — SWS Group Inc. said Wednesday its fiscal fourth-quarter profit shrank by nearly 57 percent as the investment and financial services company recorded a charge related to a decline in the value of two stocks it holds.

SWS reported net income for the three months ended June 26 of $3.6 million, or 13 cents per share, down from a profit of $8.4 million, or 31 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding a 12-cent accounting charge on the reduced value of two common stocks in its investment portfolio, NYSE Euronext and U.S. Home Systems Inc., the Dallas-based company would have earned 25 cents in the latest quarter.

In the year-ago quarter, SWS Group recorded a one-time gain of 4 cents per share from an acquisition.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected profit of 20 cents per share, on average. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time charges and gains.

Total revenue fell about 4 percent to $122.1 million in the latest quarter from nearly $127.8 million. The total revenue figures do not include interest expenses, which dropped about 42 percent to $23.1 million from nearly $40 million in the year-ago quarter.