FirstService Corp. said Tuesday profit slipped 31 percent in the fiscal third quarter as some of the contracts the real estate services company bought to protect its investments lost value.
FirstService earned $5.4 million, or 15 cents per share, in the fiscal third quarter, compared with $7.8 million, or 25 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2006.
Profit was squeezed by $4.3 million because of interest rate contracts the company used to shield its mortgage investments from swings in interest rates lost value.
Adjusted to exclude charges, profit was 29 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast profit of 27 cents per share.
Revenue jumped 34 percent to $502.2 million from $374.8 million. Analysts forecast revenue of $460.3 million.
Revenue in the commercial real estate services segment climbed 34 percent to $253.7 million because of robust brokerage volume in the Asia Pacific and Central European markets.
Residential property management revenue leaped 24 percent to $126 million as the company won contracts in Florida and the Southwest.
In the property improvement services segment, revenue nearly doubled to $67.3 million, mainly because the company bought Field Asset Services to capitalize on the spike in foreclosures.
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