MCO Moodys Corp

Moody's Corp. on Friday slashed its guidance for the year and reported profit plummeted 20% as a decline in global bond issuance dented results in the most recent quarter.

Results came in far short of Wall Street views.

Chief Executive Raymond McDaniel said reduced global bond issuance in the first quarter weighed on Moody's financial performance despite strong results in its analytics division.

"Given market conditions, we have scaled back our revenue and earnings expectations for full year 2016, and are managing our cost base accordingly," he said.

For 2016, Moody's now anticipates revenue growth in the low-single-digit percent range, compared with its previous forecast for percentage growth in the mid-single digits. The company expects earnings of $4.55 to $4.65, down from previous guidance for $4.75 to $4.85 a share.

In the most recent quarter, revenue at the Moody's Investors Service unit, the biggest revenue driver, dropped 13% to $525.1 million, hurt 1% by currency.

Meanwhile, in the analytics division, which provides financial data and other types of market intelligence to investors and banks, revenue grew by 11% to $291 million.

In all, the company reported a profit of $184.4 million, or 93 cents a share, down from $230.1 million, or $1.11 a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 5.7% to $816.1 million. The company said currency translation shaved 2% off the top line.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters projected earnings of $1.06 a share on revenue of $852 million.

U.S. revenue fell 4% to $480 million, while foreign revenue declined 8% to $336.1 million. Revenue generated outside the U.S. fell to 41% of total revenue, compared with 42% in the quarter last year.

Investors rely on the bond grades issued by Moody's, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and Fitch Ratings. Collectively, they issue about 95% of ratings globally, a total virtually unchanged from before the financial crisis.

Write to Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 29, 2016 08:45 ET (12:45 GMT)

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