Dun & Bradstreet sees drop in 2Q profit

SHORT HILLS, N.J.

Business analytics provider Dun & Bradstreet Corp. said Thursday its second-quarter profit fell sharply versus a year ago, when the company benefited from a one-time gain related to the disposal of the domestic portion of its Italian operations.

The company reported net income of $56 million, or $1.10 a share, in the three months ended June 30. That compared with net income of $76.8 million, or $1.43 a share, in the same period last year.

Excluding one-time items, earnings amounted to $62.7 million, or $1.23 a share, the company said.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters on average expected Dun & Bradstreet to report profit of $1.23 a share on revenue of $409.5 million. Analysts typically exclude one-time items from their estimates.

Revenue fell 5 percent to $397.3 million from $416.9 million in the prior-year quarter, which included $11.6 million in revenue from the discontinued portion of its Italian business.

Management said the company is on track to meet its full-year guidance, but noted it is experiencing an uneven recovery in North America, especially in sales and marketing.

To help address this, the company announced a new agreement to sell substantially all of the assets and liabilities of its North America Self Awareness Solutions business to an unnamed buyer for about $100 million.

Under the terms of the deal, the buyer will operate the business under the name of Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp., and distribute D&B-branded products.

D&B will receive $10 million in cash once the transaction closes and royalty payments for data and brand licensing, the company said. The sale is expected to close Friday.

D&B said it expects the transaction to reduce its full-year core revenue by about $51 million. But it said there will be no impact on the company's total operating income or its overall guidance for 2010.

Shares in D&B slid 36 cents to $70.50 in aftermarket trading after adding 48 cents to $70.86 during the regular session.