M&A

4 November, 2009

UPDATE 2-FTI Consulting Q3 profit tops Street; to buy back shrs

* Q3 EPS $0.70 vs est. $0.66

* Corporate finance/restructuring rev jumps 39 pct

* Announces $500 mln share buyback

* Says buyback to add 10 pct to 2010 EPS (Recasts; Adds conference call details, updates share movement)

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Business advisory firm FTI Consulting Inc (FCN.N) posted a quarterly profit that topped Wall Street targets as it gained from a surge in restructuring activities at industries hit by the recession, and said it will buy back $500 million in stock.

On a conference call, the company said the proposed buyback would add at least 10 percent to earnings per share in 2010.

FTI Consulting said it expects financial economic cases, which include securities litigation and international commercial arbitration, to ramp up in the fourth quarter and 2010.

Consulting firms, which help companies handle investigations and restructuring, are expected to see a rise in business volume as the credit crisis has increased the probability of investigations, litigation and bankruptcies.

For the third quarter, net income was $37.5 million, or 70 cents a share, compared with $26.3 million, or 48 cents a share, a year ago.

Analysts were looking for a profit of 66 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue at its corporate finance/restructuring segment jumped 39 percent, while economic consulting was up nearly 6 percent.

"Given that the majority of our business segments benefit from a growing economy, we are confident in our ability to deliver our target organic revenue growth rate of 10 percent to 12 percent next year," Chief Executive Jack Dunn said in a statement.

Shares of the West Palm Beach, Florida-based company were up about 1 percent at $43.00 in after-market trade. They closed at $42.57 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Jochelle Mendonca in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva, Unnikrishnan Nair) (jochelle.mendonca@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging: jochelle.mendonca.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Source: http://www.reuters.com