Block Reports FY06 Earnings

H&R Block Inc., Kansas City, Mo., has reported earnings of $490.4 million ($1.49 per share) for its fiscal year ended April 30, down from $623.9 million ($1.88 per share) for the prior year.The company reported net income of $587.5 million ($1.77 per share) in its fourth fiscal quarter, down from $614.9 million ($1.88 per share) a year earlier. Earnings for the quarter and the year were hurt by an after-tax charge of $6.4 million ($0.02 per share) for a restructuring of the company's mortgage operations. Block had total after-tax charges to its annual earnings of $49.1 million ($0.15 per share), which included other items such as a legal settlement in its tax business. Revenues in its mortgage services business (Option One Mortgage Corp. and H&R Block Mortgage) totaled $304.1 million for the fourth quarter, down 20% from that of the previous year, and $1.2 billion for the fiscal year, similar to that of fiscal 2005. Pretax income fell from $496.1 million in fiscal 2005 to $321.6 million in fiscal 2006 and from $163.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005 to $73.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006.