Apollo Group Inc., the largest U.S. for-profit college chain, said it would close campuses and cut jobs as it forecast revenue for fiscal 2013 that missed analysts' estimates.

For the year ending in August 2013, sales will be $3.65 billion to $3.8 billion, the Phoenix-based company said Tuesday. Analysts on average projected revenue of $4.07 billion, based on estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Enrollment at the company's University of Phoenix fell 14 percent to 328,400.

Fewer students are signing up to attend Apollo and other for-profit colleges amid high U.S. unemployment and federal and state investigations raising questions about the industry's loan defaults and marketing claims. Competition from traditional colleges' online courses is also hurting enrollment, said Peter Appert, an analyst with Piper Jaffray & Co. in San Francisco.

"Investors are nervous because the general trends in postsecondary education continue to be difficult," Appert, who has a neutral rating on the shares, said in a phone interview.

Shares of Apollo slid as much as 11 percent to $24.53 after the close of regular trading. Before the results were announced, the shares fell 0.6 percent to close at $27.49. They have dropped 49 percent this year.

The company said it will take steps to reduce annual operating expenses by at least $300 million by 2014. It will close 115 University of Phoenix locations, including 25 campuses and 90 smaller centers. The company will continue to operate 112 locations. Apollo is also cutting 800 jobs over the next fiscal year, according to the statement.

"We're positioning ourselves to be more nimble, more competitive and more successful for all of our stakeholders in Apollo," Chief Executive Greg Cappelli said Tuesday on a conference call with analysts.

Net income in the fourth quarter ended Aug. 31 fell 60 percent to $75.4 million, or 66 cents a share, from $188.6 million, or $1.37, a year earlier, Apollo said. Profit excluding some items was 52 cents a share, topping the 49-cent average of analysts' estimates.

Sales in the three-month period declined 11 percent to $996.5 million, below the average $1.01 billion estimate of analysts.