H&R Block Beats, Shares Gain

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (TheStreet) -- Shares of H&R Block(HRB) pushed up 5% in after-trading Thursday after the tax services firm posted better-than-expected quarterly results after the closing bell.

H&R Block booked a loss of $130.7 million, or 41 cents loss per share, compared with year-earlier losses of $133.6 million, or 40 cents loss per share.

Excluding one-time charges related to severance costs, adjusted losses from continuing operations were $114.8 million, or 36 cents loss per share, beating Wall Street's expectations for a loss of 41 cents per share. Analysts typically exclude such extraordinary items when forecasting earnings estimates.

H&R Block's revenue declined by $1 million, to $274.5 million. Though smaller than year-earlier sales, H&R Block's top-line figure managed to best analysts' consensus call for sales of $265.1 million.

Revenue from the firm's tax services segment did edge up though losses widened in that part of H&R Block's business.

H&R Block shares fell 2.9% in intraday trading ahead of the report.

-- Written by Miriam Marcus Reimer in New York.

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