Stewart Enterprises 3Q Profit Up On Debt Payment

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Funeral home and cemetery operator Stewart Enterprises Inc. on Thursday said its fiscal third quarter profit rose 19 percent, boosted by a gain from the early repayment of debt.

But adjusted results fell short of Wall Street expectations, and the stock fell in morning trading.

Net income for the three months ended July 31 rose to $10.8 million, or 12 cents per share, compared with $9.1 million, or 10 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Stewart said the results included a $5.4 million, or 6 cents per share, gain from paying down certain debt ahead of schedule. Adjusted for that gain and several other items, results came to profit of $4.3 million, or 5 cents per share for the quarter.

Revenue slipped 10 percent to $117.8 million from $130.4 million last year. Funeral revenue fell 3.7 percent, to $66 million, while cemetery revenue slid 16 percent to $51.7 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected profit of 8 cents per share, on revenue of $119.6 million.