RiskMetrics profit rises 20 percent on rising product sales
NEW YORK—RiskMetrics Group Inc., a provider of risk management and corporate governance services for the financial markets, said Thursday its first-quarter earnings rose 20 percent because of improving product sales and acquisitions completed in 2007.
Net income for the quarter ending March 31 rose to $347,000, or 1 cent per share, from $289,000, or 1 cent per share, during the same period the previous year.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, expected RiskMetrics Group to break even during the first quarter on revenue of $69 million.
Total revenue at RiskMetrics Group rose 36 percent to $71.2 million during the quarter, from $52.4 million during the year-ago period.
Revenue increased due to two acquisitions that were completed in 2007 -- the acquisitions of ISS and CFRA. It closed its acquisition of ISS in January 2007 and its acquisition of CFRA in August. First-quarter revenue figures in 2007 did not include a full quarter worth of ISS revenue or any revenue from CFRA.
RiskMetrics revenue and earnings were also boosted by improved sales of its RiskManager product. RiskManager revenue increased 39 percent due to strong sales to both asset managers and hedge funds. Governance services, which primarily include proxy research and voting services, increased 11 percent from the year-ago period.
