(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)

Late on Thursday, AmSurg Corp. (NASDAQ: AMSG) announced that its fourth quarter fell to $11.71 million or 37 cents a share from $12.72 million or 40 cents a share in the year-ago quarter. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 40 cents a share. Revenue grew 8% to $153.1 million. Consensus expectations were for earnings of 40 cents a share on revenue of $158.2 million. For the full-year 2008, earnings rose to $47.05 million or $1.47 a share from $44.18 million or $1.42 a share in 2007.Revenue increased 16% to $600.66 million from $518.31 million last year. Looking ahead, for the first quarter, the company anticipates an adjusted profit of 38 cents to 40 cents a share which compares to consensus estimates of 41 cents. For full fiscal year 2009, the company expects to earn in the range of $1.64 and $1.67 a share and report revenue in the range of $650 million to $680 million. Analysts currently expect the company to report earnings of $1.69 a share on revenue of $677.94 million for 2009. President and Chief Executive Officer Christopher A. Holden stated "We are pleased to have achieved double-digit earnings growth in the fourth quarter during a tough economic environment. With our strong financial position and sources of liquidity, we are confident of having the financial resources to fund our anticipated growth for 2009, despite the challenging credit and economic environment."

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) said that its fiscal second-quarter net income declined to $85 million, or 26 cents a share, from $115.2 million, or 34 cents a share in the prior year quarter. Revenue decreased 5% to $791 million. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 34 cents a share in the latest quarter. Analysts on an average projected earnings of 33 cents a share on revenue of $809 million. President and CEO Brad Smith said "We continue to adapt in this strained economy and manage the business by focusing on customer acquisition and investing in innovation. By managing our expenses, we expect to deliver strong earnings growth for the year. While our company is not recession-proof, we are resilient. Consumers and small business owners are focused on saving and making money, and that is what our products are designed to deliver. We help them put more money in their pockets, which creates demand for many of our offerings in any environment. That's why we still expect to deliver positive revenue growth for fiscal year 2009. Shares of the company rose 5.92% in extended trading.

j2 Global Communications (NASDAQ: JCOM) reported that fourth quarter net income jumped to $20.3 million or 45 cents a share from $16.9 million or 34 cents a share in the same quarter, a year ago. Revenues rose 7% to $60.64 million from $56.83 million. Analysts' estimates were for earnings of 42 cents a share on revenue of $61.58 million for the fourth quarter.