Downers Grove, IL, May 10--ServiceMaster Co. posted a slightly lower first-quarter profit partly due to unfavorable March weather.
The company reaffirmed its outlook for the year, saying it expected to overcome external factors, including rising fuel and health-insurance costs, as well as bad weather.
Earnings fell to $10.6 million, or $0.04 a share, from $11.2 million, or $0.04 a share, a year earlier.
Analysts had expected the company to earn $0.03 a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Sales rose 3 percent from last year to $782.3 million, short of the $792.3 million analysts had expected.
The TruGreen ChemLawn lawn care services segment saw first-quarter sales slip 1 percent while its operating loss widened slightly due to late snow in several regions. The Terminix pest control business saw sales rise 5 percent due partly to an expanded sales force.
ServiceMaster reiterated that it expects sales growth in 2005 to be in the mid- to high-single digit range and that earnings per share will grow somewhat faster than that. It earned 59 cents a share on sales of $3.8 billion last year.
In 2005, analysts expect the company to earn $0.65 a share on sales of $3.96 billion.
