MAXIMUS (NYSE: MMS) reported Q1 EPS of $0.78, $0.04 better than the analyst estimate of $0.74. Revenue for the quarter came in at $623.1 million versus the consensus estimate of $626.22 million.

Highlights for the first quarter of fiscal year 2018 include:

• Revenue of $623.1 million
• Excluding the benefits from U.S. tax reform, diluted earnings per share would have been $0.78 for the first quarter of fiscal 2018.
• Diluted earnings per share of $0.89 compared to $0.71 for the same period last year
• Cash flows from operations of $37.9 million and free cash flow of $31.4 million
• Year-to-date signed contract awards of $1.2 billion and contracts pending (awarded but unsigned) of $236.0 million at December 31, 2017
• Sales pipeline of $3.2 billion at December 31, 2017
• Updated fiscal 2018 diluted earnings per share guidance to range between $3.30 and $3.50 due to the benefits from U.S. tax reform

Guidance

OutlookMAXIMUS continues to expect revenue to range between $2.475 billion and $2.550 billion for fiscal 2018 with a bias toward the lower half of the range due to contracts that are ending in the U.S. Federal Services Segment, including temporary work in support of federal disaster relief efforts that came to an end earlier than expected.

MAXIMUS has historically paid a high income tax rate in the United States and the majority of its earnings are also derived in the U.S. As a result of the benefits of tax reform in the U.S., the Company expects that its fiscal 2018 earnings will benefit by approximately $0.35 of diluted earnings per share and estimates its effective income tax rate for fiscal 2018 will range between 26% and 28%. As a result, the Company is raising its fiscal 2018 earnings guidance and now expects GAAP diluted earnings per share to range between $3.30 and $3.50 for fiscal 2018. This compares to the Company\'s prior guidance of $2.95 to $3.15.

GUIDANCE:

MAXIMUS sees FY2018 EPS of $3.30-$3.50, versus the consensus of $3.08. MAXIMUS sees FY2018 revenue of $2.478-2.55 billion, versus the consensus of $2.51 billion.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on MAXIMUS (MMS) click here.