H&R Block Sees Loss Widen

H&R Block Inc. on Tuesday reported weaker-than-expected results for its latest quarter as the tax-service provider said it had fewer customers in the U.S. and suffered from currency woes.

Shares of H&R Block, down 30% this year, fell 5.6% to $22.85 in after-hours trading. The company noted that, because of the seasonal nature of its business, its fiscal first quarter is not indicative of full-year results.

"The fiscal first quarter typically represents less than 5% of annual revenues and less than 15% of annual expenses," the company said in a statement.

Still, H&R Block missed Wall Street expectations amid changes to the company's balance sheets after the sale of its bank business to a unit of BofI Holding Inc. The move resulted in the reclassification of certain revenue and the loss of some investment income.

Under the agreement, BofI Federal Bank would act as the bank for H&R Block-branded financial-services products, such as lines of credit and prepaid debit cards. H&R Block also sold securities related to the bank.

In April, H&R Block said it was laying off 250 workers during a disappointing tax season. H&R Block said it handled 5.8% fewer U.S. tax returns in the most recent tax season and planned to restructure operations, including laying off nearly 13% of its workforce.

For the period ended July 31, H&R Block reported a loss of $123.7 million, or 56 cents a share, wider than its loss of $99.7 million, or 36 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items, adjusted per-share earnings sank to a loss of 55 cents from a loss of 35 cents a year ago.

Revenue fell 9.1% to $125 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share loss of 53 cents and revenue of $133 million.

Write to Ezequiel Minaya at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 30, 2016 18:05 ET (22:05 GMT)

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