Earnings Fall at Fair Isaac

MINNEAPOLIS – Credit scorer Fair Isaac & Co., under pressure to sell the company, said profits for ist fiscal third quarter declined 8% to $23.8 million, or 42 cents a share, compared to $26 million, or 40 cents a share, for the same period last year. The provider of the ubiquitous FICO credit score attributed the decline in earnings to the sale of its mortgage operations and declines in professional services revenues. Fair Isaac's chief product, the FICO score, has come under increasing pressure since the three credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, introduced their own credit score, called VantageScore. Third quarter revenues fell slightly to $205.8 million, from $207.1 million for the third quarter last year. The company was put into play recently when a private equity fund, Sandell Asset Management, which owns a 5% stake, called on Fair Isaac management to hire an investment bank to explore a sale or other strategic alternatives.