H & R Block Inc (NYSE: HRB) stock fell 1.84% despite decent results for the first quarter of 2019.
HRB in the first quarter of FY 19 has reported the adjusted loss per share of 72 cents. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 5.4 percent to $145 million in the first quarter of FY 19, wherein revenue grew primarily due to the timing of revenues from the Peace of Mind Extended Service Plan and Tax Identity Shield, partially offset by lower revenues from Refund Transfer. Total operating expenses rose 1.3 percent, to $327.3 million primarily due to increases in compensation and consulting expenses, partially offset by lower depreciation and amortization and bad debt expense.
HRB is investing in three specific areas in fiscal 2019, price, technology, and operational excellence. With technology, HRB is making investments to modernize the platform to enable more innovation and greater agility and to reduce spend over time. There are four key areas of investment. First, the company is building a new tax engine which will consolidate multiple systems, creating efficiencies and eliminating unnecessary and redundant work. Second, the company is investing in cross-channel capabilities to enable a seamless client experience across platforms, something that will be key as we innovate in virtual. Third, the company is migrating the physical data centers to the cloud which is more appropriate for the seasonality of the operating model and will allow the company to be more agile and reduce cost. And fourth, the company is optimizing the data architecture and analytics platform to allow for faster and deeper insight in the trend in the business.
During the first quarter of FY19, the company repurchased and retired approximately 4.2 million shares at an aggregate price of $97.1 million, or $23.27 per share. The company has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share is payable on October 1, 2018 to shareholders of record as of September 12, 2018.
For FY 19, the company expects total revenues to be in the range of $3.05 billion to $3.1 billion, EBITDA margin is expected to be in the range of 24% to 26% and an effective tax rate to be between 23% to 25%.