Administaff Hits Profit in 4Q, Shares Slip

Administaff (NYSE:ASF) swung to a fourth-quarter profit over a year ago loss, fueled by higher worksite employees and the average number of staffers paid per month, though its shares slid lower on Monday as revenue missed Wall Street estimates.

The Kingwood, Texas-based company posted net income of $7.8 million, or 30 cents a share, compared with a loss of $2.8 million, or 11 cents a share, in the same quarter last year, narrowly ahead of average analyst estimates polled by Thomson Reuters of 29 cents.

Revenue for the professional employer organization was $435.5 million, up about 10% from $395.9 million a year ago, missing the Street’s view of $437.5 million.

Administaff, which provides various personnel management services in the U.S., attributed the stronger sales results to a 5.8% improvement in worksite employees per month and a 3.9% increase in the average number of worksite employees paid per month.

“We are very pleased with our performance throughout the year and our strong finish to 2010, resulting in over 112,000 worksite employees paid in January,” said Administaff CEO Paul Sarvadi.

Looking ahead, he said the company is well positioned to resume double-digit worksite employee growth, while continuing with its business development plan and launching a new corporate brand strategy.