Capella Education Co. said its second-quarter profit rose 14 percent as enrollment in its online university courses rose solidly.
Executives cautioned, however, that they expected enrollment growth to level a bit in the current quarter, and investors responded by sending the company's shares down 5 percent in Tuesday trading.
The Minneapolis-based firm said profit was $10.3 million, or 83 cents a diluted share, up from $9 million, or 72 cents a share, a year ago.
Analysts expected a profit of 81 cents a share.
Revenue was $108 million, up 3 percent from $104.8 million a year ago.
The company's total active enrollment increased 4.3 percent to 37,346 and new enrollment was up 2.9 percent from the year-ago period.
In its outlook, Capella said total enrollment for the third quarter will be 3 to 4 percent higher than a year ago and new enrollment flat to slightly down from last year's level.
The company said it expects its operating margin, which was 15.8 percent in the latest quarter, to be in the range of 12.5 to 13.5 percent for the third quarter.
"Our third quarter 2015 outlook reflects the variability in the current market environment," Steve Polacek, the company's chief financial officer, said in a statement.
Evan Ramstad • 612-673-4241