51job Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

51job (Nasdaq: JOBS  ) reported earnings on Feb. 20. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), 51job beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded. Non-GAAP earnings per share grew significantly. GAAP earnings per share grew.

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
51job reported revenue of $63.7 million. The two analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see sales of $61.3 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 9.2% higher than the prior-year quarter's $55.9 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.74. The two earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.66 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.74 for Q4 were 19% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.62 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.66 for Q4 were 8.2% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.61 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 70.6%, 60 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 31.4%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 32.1%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.62.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $271.9 million. The average EPS estimate is $2.68.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 379 members out of 398 rating the stock outperform, and 19 members rating it underperform. Among 114 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 109 give 51job a green thumbs-up, and five give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on 51job is buy, with an average price target of $58.06.

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