Current HR Marketplace Earnings and M&A News

The following quarterly HR marketplace earnings and M&A announcements are aggregated by www.HRmarketer.com, the leading online marketing and PR service for the human capital industry. HR Marketer lists the previous quarter's earnings from publicly traded HR companies and all the exciting M&A activity in the growing HR space.

Archives: Summer 2007 | Spring 2007 | Fall 2006 | Winter 2006/2007

Summer 2007

Previous Quarter’s Earnings:

• Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP): Reported reported 14% revenue growth to $7.8 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2007, Gary C. Butler, president and chief executive officer announced. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, revenues were $2.0 billion, an increase of 13% compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006. Pretax and net earnings from continuing operations grew 29% and 38%, respectively, and diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.35 increased 40%, from $0.25 per share a year ago on fewer shares outstanding. As anticipated, during the fourth quarter, ADP increased its share repurchases, acquiring over 22 million shares of its stock for treasury for approximately $1.1 billion.

• Aon Corp. (AOC): Reported that its profit leaped 24 percent in the second quarter as the insurance brokerage won new business overseas, the company said Tuesday. Aon reported second-quarter net income of $240 million, or 81 cents per share, compared with earnings of $193 million, or 60 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2006. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast profit of 67 cents per share. Revenue rose 13 percent to $2.49 billion from $2.21 billion. Wall Street expected revenue of $2.34 billion.

• Administaff Inc. (ASF): Reported second-quarter earnings rose 30 percent, helped by an increase in demand for staffers. Quarterly net income rose to $13.6 million, or 50 cents per share, from $10.5 million, or 37 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose 12 percent to $376.8 million from $337.8 million last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a profit of 39 cents per share on revenue of $379 million.

• Ceridian Corporation (CEN): Reported that its profit rose 6 percent in the second quarter as the business services provider did a better job of keeping its customers. Ceridian reported second-quarter net income of $44.6 million, or 31 cents per share, compared with earnings of $42.2 million, or 29 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2006. Net income met analysts' expectations, according to a Thomson Financial survey. Revenue climbed 5 percent to $407.7 million from $388.9 million. Analysts expected revenue of $415 million.

• Convergys Corp. (CVG): Reported its second-quarter profit dipped 3 percent on higher costs and a weak U.S. dollar, missing Wall Street's expectations. Net income fell to $38.8 million, or 28 cents per share, compared with $39.8 million, or 28 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Analysts forecast earnings of 30 cents per share, according to a Thomson Financial poll. Quarterly revenue increased 2 percent to $707 million from $691.8 million on growth in its customer care and employee care units.

• The Corporate Executive Board Company (CEB): Announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2007. Revenues for the second quarter increased 16.2% to $129.7 million from $111.7 million for the second quarter of 2006. Net income decreased 2.5% to $17.3 million from $17.8 million. Diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of 2007 increased 7.0% to $0.46 from $0.43 for the second quarter of 2006.

• Gevity HR Inc. (GVHR): Reported its second-quarter profit slipped 32 percent, weighed by acquisition integration costs and lower professional services fees. Net income dropped to $4.7 million, or 19 cents per share, compared with $6.9 million, or 26 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Analysts expected a profit of 17 cents per share, according to a Thomson Financial survey. The company said integration costs related to the acquisition of HRAmerica hurt the current period's results. Quarterly revenue fell 7 percent to $150.4 million from $161.2 million, missing Wall Street's estimate of $160.5 million.

• Hewitt Associates Inc. (HEW): Reported it swung to a fiscal third-quarter profit as goodwill and asset impairment charges dropped significantly. For the quarter ended June 30, Hewitt earned $47.5 million, or 43 cents per share, compared with a loss of $202.2 million, or $1.88 per share, for the same quarter in 2006. Total revenue rose 3.9 percent to $742.3 million from $714.4 million in the year-ago-period.

• Kenexa (KNXA): Reported its shares fell after analysts downgraded the stock and third-quarter profit guidance came in below Wall Street estimates. The company reported net income of $5.8 million, or 23 cents per share, compared with $3.3 million, or 16 cents per share, last year. Excluding stock-based compensation expense and amortization of intangibles from recent acquisitions, Kenexa reported earnings of 28 cents per share. Revenue jumped to $45.2 million from $24.7 million in the year-ago period and includes a boost from the company's November acquisition of BrassRing, which serves aerospace, financial services, health care and medical technology industries.

• Kronos Incorporated (KRON): Reported it completed its sale to private equity companies Hellman & Friedman LLC and JMI Equity. Kronos announced the $1.8 billion transaction in March Under terms of the agreement. Kronos shares were removed from the Nasdaq Stock Market at the end of the trading session Monday. They fell 7 cents to close at $55.

• Monster Worldwide, Inc. (MNST): Reported it expects the sales growth rate in the third quarter to be similar to the second quarter, when revenue jumped 20 percent. Third-quarter sales growth, however, is expected to be offset by the removal of certain "work-at-home" job postings and other online ads. The sales growth rate for the fourth quarter is expected to increase, according to the company. For the full year, the company projects sales will reach $1.34 billion to $1.37 billion. Analysts expect, on average, $1.37 billion in revenue, according to a Thomson Financial survey. Separately the company announced plans to cut 800 jobs, or 15 percent of its full-time work force. Shares of Monster traded at $38.14 in the premarket session, up 24 cents, or 0.6 percent, from Friday's closing price of $37.90.

• Oracle Corp. (ORCL): Reported its fiscal fourth-quarter profit climbed 23 percent to $1.6 billion, or 31 cents per share. Oracle shares rose 53 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $19.69 Wednesday. The stock had fallen 32 cents to $19.16 Tuesday. The performance during the three months ended in May extended a hot streak that has helped boost Oracle's market value by about $30 billion since the company's flamboyant chief executive, Larry Ellison, finally wrapped up a hostile takeover of PeopleSoft Inc. in late 2004.

• Paychex Inc. (PAYX): Reported its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 12 percent as its client base grew and used more services and prices rose. For the quarter ended May 31, Paychex earned $137.2 million, or 36 cents per share, compared with $122.7 million, or 32 cents per share, for the corresponding quarter in fiscal 2006. Revenue rose 11 percent to $487.3 million, from $440.5 million in the year-ago period. It also has initiated a $1 billion share repurchase program. The buyback was first announced July 12. The company also said then that it would increase its regular quarterly dividend to 30 cents per share from 21 cents, payable Aug. 15 to shareholders of record Aug. 1. Shares of the company rose 40 cents to close at $42.54 Friday.

• Saba (SABA): Reported its fiscal fourth-quarter loss shrank as the company attracted more customers and offset rising costs. For the quarter ended May 31, Saba posted a loss of $3.1 million, or 11 cents per share, compared with $3.5 million, or 12 cents per share, for the same quarter in 2006. Excluding one-time charges and stock-option expenses, the company posted an adjusted loss of $1.4 million, or 5 cents per share, compared with an adjusted profit of $1.1 million, or 4 cents per share, for the same quarter in 2006. Revenue rose 11 percent to $25.6 million from $23 million in the year-ago period.
  
  

• SAP AG (SAP): Reported its second-quarter profit grew 8 percent, citing market share gains and strong sales growth in all three major markets -- Europe, Asia and the United States. SAP is the world's largest maker of business-software applications that help companies do back-office work such as payroll, inventory management and accounting, ahead of U.S.-based rivals Oracle Corp. and Microsoft Corp. The Walldorf-based company's profit rose to 449 million euros ($619.6 million) from 415 million euros a year ago, ahead of analysts' expectations of 395 million euros ($545.1 million). SAP also said that earnings were helped by a low effective tax rate of 25.8 percent.

• TALX Corporation (TALX): Equifax Inc. completed its acquisition of TALX Corp. in the second quarter, and increased its net income by 0.7 percent. Atlanta-based credit reporting firm Equifax (NYSE: EFX) posted net income of $70.1 million on $454.5 million in revenue, compared with net income of $69.6 million on $387.7 million in revenue in the second quarter of 2006. Second-quarter earnings dropped 3.8 percent to 51 cents a share. Equifax noted double-digit revenue growth in its International, North America Personal Solutions and North America Commercial Solutions units. The the acquisition of TALX provided a 17 percent boost in revenue.

• Taleo Corp. (TLEO): Reported record financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2007. Total revenue for the second quarter was $31.0 million, representing an increase of 32% on a year-over-year basis. Application revenue for the second quarter was $25.6 million, an increase of 34% on a year-over-year basis. Services revenue for the second quarter was $5.4 million, an increase of 21% on a year-over-year basis.

• Ultimate Software (ULTI): Reported financial results for its second quarter of 2007. For the quarter ended June 30, 2007, Ultimate Software reported total revenues of $35.0 million, an increase of 23% compared with the second quarter of 2006, and recurring revenues of $21.1 million, a 36% increase over the same period of the previous year.

• Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc. (WW): Reported its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 23 percent, led by double-digit sales growth in its key benefits segment. Earnings climbed to $31.6 million, or 71 cents per share, compared with $25.7 million, or 61 cents per share, in the prior-year period. The current quarter's results included 2 cents per share from favorable exchange rates. Quarterly revenue rose 12 percent to $388.5 million versus $347.1 million in the previous year.

• Workstream Inc. (WSTM): Reported its fourth quarter and fiscal 2007 year-end results for the period ended May 31, 2007. All figures are in U.S. dollars. Total revenue for the fourth quarter was $7,376,000 compared to $7,844,000 in the prior year's period, a decrease of $468,000 or 6%. EBITDA loss for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 was $(1,322,000), or $(0.03) per share, compared to an EBITDA loss of $(743,000), or $(0.01) per share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006. The Company's net loss for the quarter ended May 31, 2007 was $(4,036,000), or $(0.08) per share, compared to a net loss of $(2,426,000), or $(0.05) per share, in last year's comparable quarter.

Previous Quarter’s M&A Activity:

• Adecco signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Tuja Group for a total consideration (enterprise value) of around EUR 800 million. With this transaction, Adecco strengthens its position in the German temporary staffing market, one of the fastest growing of its kind in the industry worldwide.

• Barrett Business Services, Inc. announced that it has reached an agreement in principle to acquire Strategic Staffing, Inc. headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah pursuant to an asset purchase agreement effective July 1, 2007. The transaction is subject to the successful completion of due diligence. Consideration for the transaction includes $12 million in cash due upon closing and any additional consideration contingent upon the financial performance during the 12-month period following the effective date. The contingent consideration will be a multiple of pre-tax earnings above a pre-determined target.

• Vancouver-based BBSI (NASDAQ: BBSI) paid $12 million in cash for Salt Lake City-based Strategic Staffing. It could make additional payments if the company hits certain financial targets in the next 12 months. Strategic Staffing has five offices in Utah and one in Colorado Springs, Colo. The company had $38 million in revenue in 2006. Its revenue could climb to $48 million in 2007.

• BPO Management Services a full-service business process outsourcing company focused on serving middle-market enterprise announced the completion of its acquisition of Human Resource MicroSystems, Inc. (HRMS), a San Francisco-based provider of human resources software to the middle market.

• CDC Software , a provider of industry-specific enterprise software applications and business services, announced that it has signed a definitive merger agreement with Saratoga Systems, a leading provider of CRM solutions for large, global enterprises.

• Ceridian Corporation, Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. and Fidelity National Financial, Inc. announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Ceridian will be jointly acquired by THL Partners and FNF in an all cash transaction valued at approximately $5.3 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Ceridian shareholders will receive $36.00 per share in cash for each share of common stock they hold. This represents a premium of approximately 17% over Ceridian’s closing share price on February 12, 2007, the last trading day prior to the public announcement that Ceridian had commenced the exploration of strategic alternatives, and a premium of approximately 56% over Ceridian’s closing share price on October 6, 2006, the last trading day prior to the announcement of Kathryn V. Marinello’s appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer of Ceridian.

• ClearPoint Business Resources, Inc. ("ClearPoint" or the "Company"), a workforce management solutions provider entered into a Letter of Intent on March 29, 2007 for the potential acquisition of certain assets of The Human Resource Enterprise Corporation.

• Frontline Source Group, Inc. acquired dfwHR, LLC, a Dallas-based, certified women-owned, temporary staffing firm.

• Global Lead, LLC , an international management consulting firm specializing in talent management, leadership and diversity/inclusion announced it has acquired Tulin DiversiTeam Associates, a consultancy based in Philadelphia.

• Hewitt Associates Inc. , a provider of human-resource services, said it would buy RealLife HR to target mid-sized companies. Maryland-based RealLife oversees health and welfare benefits for 35 companies, each of which has fewer than 15,000 employees and retirees. Hewitt did not disclose financial terms of the agreement, which is expected to close at the end of August.

• IMPACT Group , a global leader in relocation and career transition solutions announced that it has acquired the human resource (HR) consulting business of Spherion Corporation which providesoutplacement services throughout the U.S. The alignment of companies will advance IMPACT Group’s leadership in the outplacement arena, expanding IMPACT Group’s portfolio of relocation, outplacement and retirement transition services.

• Infor announced the closing of two acquisitions, Hansen Information Technologies and Workbrain Corporation. The acquisitions continue to move Infor to the forefront of the enterprise software industry, adding a focused offering to local government through Hansen, and significantly bolstering its presence in human capital management through Workbrain. With the addition of the acquired companies, Infor continues to deliver on its strategy of filling a gap in the market by providing, through acquisition and innovation, solutions built specifically for the markets it serves.

• Kenexa , a leading provider of talent acquisition and retention solutions, announced it has acquired Germany-based HRC Human Resources Consulting GmbH. Headquartered in Munich, HRC Human Resources Consulting GmbH (HRC) is one of the leading consultancies for business-orientated employee surveys in German-speaking countries. The acquisition of HRC will provide additional proprietary content to Kenexa's current survey and performance management offering and their offices will expand Kenexa's geographical reach in mainland Europe - a key growth area for Kenexa.

• Kenexa acquired Dallas-based StraightSource. For more than 10 years, StraightSource has been providing recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) services to Fortune 500 companies. StraightSource offers both comprehensive and modular recruitment solutions through every aspect of the recruitment process.

• Kronos Inc. said it has acquired a privately held Belgium-based company called Captor. Like Kronos, Captor is a provider of workforce management solutions. Captor serves customers throughout Europe, Chelmsford, Mass.-based Kronos said in a statement. The transaction is part of the company's global expansion strategy, the statement said. Financial terms were not disclosed. Kronos went private earlier this week after it was acquired by private equity companies Hellman & Friedman LLC and JMI Equity in a deal valued at $1.8 billion.

• McKesson has acquired a time and attendance and labor management solution well-suited to meet the needs of today’s healthcare delivery organizations. The Web-enabled application automates key timekeeping processes enabling healthcare managers to reallocate work hours traditionally spent manually reconciling timesheets for accuracy. Once integrated with other components of McKesson’s workforce management solution suite, the new time and attendance solution will create unmatched workflow between staffing and scheduling functional areas, enabling healthcare organizations to take into account patient acuity and workload for optimized staffing choices, adherence to appropriate pay rules, and enhanced compliance with federal regulations.

• Pearson PLC has moved to expand its education publishing business with the acquisition of the assessment and education operations of rival Reed Elsevier PLC for 950 million usd (477 million stg) in cash. Reed put the Harcourt Assessment and Harcourt Education International businesses up for sale in February in order to focus on its science, medical, legal and business to business publishing markets.

• The Sage Group PLC has announced an agreement to acquire from its owners Singapore-based Creative Software Pte Ltd, a vendor of payroll and human resource management software products, for an enterprise value of about $6.5 million.

• Salary.com announced that it has acquired ICR Limited, L.C. and ICR International Ltd. (ICR), a provider of specialty consumer goods and global technology compensation data and software. ICR will operate as a division of Salary.com, Inc.

• A management team led by Seth Bernstein of Orlando, Florida announced the acquisition of Empagio Corporation, a global software and services company. Mr. Bernstein, CEO and majority owner, has put together an industry experienced Management Team, as well as a Board of Directors, that includes some of the most successful and well know business leaders in America. Empagio is a company that has been built on three strategic acquisitions. Tesseract, a powerful Payroll and Human Resources system, is the centerpiece of the Empagio product suite with clients including many Fortune 100 Companies. The firm produces over 3.2 million paychecks per week and is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices nationwide.

• Human resources company Talent2 International Ltd has acquired outsourcing firm BizEd Services Pty Ltd for $9 million.

• TriNet Group, Inc , a nationwide provider of human resource (HR) outsourcing services for small and medium-sized companies, announced the next stage of its growth and expansion strategy through the acquisition of the business of John Parry & Alexander (JPA), an HR outsourcing and consulting services company based in Walnut Creek, California.

• Virgo Capital has led an acquisition of Accord Human Resources, an Oklahoma City and Tampa, Fla.-based provider of outsourced human resource solutions. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which included additional equity from McClendon Venture Co. and Records Private Equity. Fifth Third Bank provided leveraged financing. AHR serves approximately 11,000 client employees located in 44 states.

• Watson Wyatt Worldwide has bought 20% of German insurance consultancy, Institut für Finanz und Aktuarwissenschaften (ifa), for an undisclosed amount. According to the letter of intent, Watson Wyatt plans to integrate its German consultancy into ifa from 1 January 2008. Watson Wyatt assured Global Pensions there would be no job cuts from the merger.

• Watson Wyatt Worldwide also announced the intention to acquire Heissmann, Germany's premier firm of actuarial, benefits and human resources consultants.

• Watson Wyatt Worldwide also announced they will acquire privately held WisdomNet Inc. Financial terms weren't disclosed.Denver-based WisdomNet, founded in 1997, is an employee-management consulting firm whose clients range from startups to Fortune 500 companies. The company has offices in Denver and Los Angeles.

• Willis Group Holdings acquired Chicago-based InsuranceNoodle, a leading internet distributor of U.S. small business insurance. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

• World Access , one of the nation’s largest travel insurance and assistance providers and subsidiary of Mondial Assistance, has acquired Jefferson Insurance Company from Allianz Global Risks US. World Access, Mondial Assistance, Allianz Global Risks US and Jefferson are part of the Allianz Group, one of the world's leading insurers and financial service providers, headquartered in Munich, Germany.