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Empresas y finanzas

Apollo Group to cut jobs, close campuses


    (Reuters) - Apollo Group Inc , owner of the largest for-profit college in the United States, posted a 60 percent drop in quarterly profit and forecast a weak 2013 due to lower student enrollments.

    The company said it will cut about 800 jobs and shut down 115 campuses as part of its efforts to save costs by $300 million by fiscal year 2014.

    Apollo's shares, which have nearly halved in value since the beginning of this year, fell about 10 percent after the bell to $24.88.

    Apollo, the parent company of the University of Phoenix, said the campus closures will impact about 4 percent of total enrollment, or about 13,000 students.

    The company expects to incur about $175 million of restructuring and other charges, primarily from lease exit and other related costs.

    For 2013, Apollo forecast operating income of between $525 million and $575 million, excluding items, and revenue of between $3.65 billion and $3.80 billion.

    Analysts were looking for a profit of $3.13 per share, on revenue of $4.07 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. [ID:nASA04YHZ]

    Apollo, considered a bellwether for the sector, said student sign-ups fell 14 percent for the fourth quarter ended August 31.

    (Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane)