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NEW YORK (AP) — Apollo Education Group Inc. on Monday reported a fiscal first-quarter loss on plunging enrollment but its shares rose 16 percent in morning trading as it said it was pursuing "transforming" changes to improve its operations.
The operator of for-profit college University of Phoenix lost $60.8 million, or 56 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, amounted to 29 cents per share. Meanwhile, the average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 31 cents per share.
Revenue fell 18 percent to $586 million while eight analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $608.6 million.
The Phoenix-based company did not give details on its potential options, but retained Barclays and Credit Suisse as financial advisers. The board is currently in discussions that could potentially lead to a change of control of the company, Apollo said.
Apollo Education has had several lackluster quarters as enrollments at for-profit schools fall amid increased government scrutiny of the industry. During the quarter degreed enrollment fell 22 percent at Apollo.
"Apollo is taking the necessary steps to enhance long-term shareholder value through a series of strategic actions which include transforming University of Phoenix into a higher retaining, more trusted provider of career relevant higher education, continued expansion of our international network, and a commitment to efficiency," CEO Greg Cappelli said.
Apollo Education shares rose $1.07, or 16.2 percent, to $7.66 in morning trading. The stock has dropped 70 percent in the last 12 months.
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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on APOL at http://www.zacks.com/ap/APOL
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Keywords: Apollo Education Group, Earnings Report
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