Revenue growth from Morningstar Direct, a web-based institutional research platform, was one of the fastest growing lines as the financial services company Morningstar reported a 47.1-percent increase in net income on an 18.3-percent increase in revenue for the second quarter ended June 30. Meanwhile, the company said there was only a slight rise in licenses for its Advisor Workstation line.
Morningstar reported net income of $26.5 million for the most recently ended quarter, compared to just over $18 million the prior year. Second-quarter revenue was $161 million, up from $136.1 million a year earlier.
The company pumped its profits by holding the growth of expenses to a 12.9-percent increase. That made operating margins pop - they jumped to 24 percent from 20.3 percent for the compared periods.
In a prepared statement, CEO Joe Mansueto said there was an 11-percent increase in revenue growth. Besides Morningstar Direct, the other strong growth occurred in Investment Consulting.
Morningstar Direct and Advisor Workstation are both reported as part of the Investment Information segment. The business had quarterly revenue of $128.1 million, a 17.5 percent increase over last year's corresponding period.
The company said Advisor Workstation licenses rose slightly to 156,258. There are two segments of that product line with Morningstar Office aimed at independent financial advisors and the enterprise edition designed for financial advisors affiliated with larger firms.
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind