Stanley fiscal 4th-qtr profit spikes on contracts

For the period ended March 31 the company posted profit of $7.7 million, or 33 cents per share, compared with $4.5 million, of 20 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose 49 percent to $173.5 million from $116.6 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected, on average, earnings of 31 cents per share on revenue of $169 million for the period.

Stanley said the revenue jump was due in part its acquisition of Techrizon in April 2007 and expansion of existing contracts. Also during the fourth quarter it won a $570 million, five-year contract to support the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs/Passport Services, the largest contract in the company's history.

Operating costs and expenses jumped 48 percent to $159.5 million from $108.1 million.

Stanley also made news during the period when some of its employees contracted to do passport work for the U.S. Department of State looked into the passport files of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republican rival John McCain. The company said at the time its employees' actions were unauthorized and not consistent with company policies

For the year, Stanley posted profit of $26.2 million, or $1.12 per share, on revenue of $604.3 million.

Shares fell 30 cents to $26.01 in aftermarket trading Wednesday.