Moody's 2Q profit falls 19%

Moody's Corp., owner of Moody's Investor Service, said Wednesday that second-quarter profit fell 19 percent as the credit markets continued to languish. But it beat Wall Street estimates and raised its 2009 profit forecast. Moody's earned $109.3 million, or 46 cents per share, in the three months ended June 30. That is down from $135.2 million, or 54 cents per share, it earned a year earlier. Excluding one-time costs, Moody's earned 43 cents per share, better than the 40 cents per share predicted by analysts in a Thomson Reuters poll. Revenue fell 7.6 percent to $450.7 million from $487.6 million. Analysts had expected $426.6 million. The company raised its profit forecast for 2009 to a range of $1.45 to $1.55 per share, from a previous projection of $1.40 to $1.50 per share. Moody's said it based its improved outlook on a stronger performance in the first half and anticipated weakness in business conditions for the rest of the year. Analysts expect 2009 profit of $1.56 per share on revenue of $1.68 billion. Shares fell $1.85, or 6.7 percent, to $25.77 in afternoon trading.