Dice Holdings' shares drop on soft outlook

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares in careers website company Dice Holdings Inc. fell sharply on Wednesday after it noted weaker recruiting activity by hiring managers in the financial services industry and forecast revenue below Wall Street's expectations.

New York-based Dice reported that its second-quarter profit jumped 22 percent as it balanced the decline in new business from small to mid-sized customer firms with increased services for large customers.

CEO Scot Melland, however, said the second quarter "was tougher than we expected."

Dice projected revenue of $47 million for the third quarter and $189 million for the full year. Analysts had been expecting $50.4 million for the current quarter and $196.9 million for the full year, according to FactSet

Dice's shares ended down $1.04, or nearly 13 percent, at $7.19 in Wednesday trading.

Dice operates in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. It reported net income of $9.5 million, or 14 cents per share, in the April-June period, up from $7.7 million, or 11 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.

Revenue increased 8 percent to $48.5 million from $44.9 million.

Analysts had been expecting net income 13 cents a share on $48.9 million in revenue in the latest quarter.

Revenue from the company's Dice.com website, which posts technology job ads, rose 14 percent, while revenue from its Rigzone energy-careers website jumped 25 percent. Its eFinancialCareers site, however, saw its revenue fall 15 percent.

Last month, Dice bought the assets of FINS.com and signed an exclusive agreement with Dow Jones & Co. to operate the online career centers for WSJ.com and MarketWatch.com in the U.S.