ATLANTA (AP) _ Equifax Inc. (EFX) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter profit of $9.2 million.

The Atlanta-based company said it had profit of 7 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to $1.53 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.49 per share.

The credit reporting company posted revenue of $905.8 million in the period, which also topped Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $897.2 million.

For the year, the company reported a loss of $398.8 million, or $3.27 per share, swinging to a loss in the period. Revenue was reported as $3.51 billion.

For the current quarter ending in April, Equifax expects its per-share earnings to range from $1.29 to $1.34. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had forecast adjusted earnings per share of $1.28.

The company said it expects revenue in the range of $915 million to $930 million for the fiscal first quarter. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had expected revenue of $901 million.

Equifax expects full-year earnings in the range of $5.60 to $5.80 per share, with revenue ranging from $3.65 billion to $3.75 billion.

Equifax shares have risen 10% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed almost 5%. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $154.59, an increase of 43% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on EFX at https://www.zacks.com/ap/EFX

Automated Insights, source Associated Press News