Liberty Tax Inc. said its normalized net income for the fiscal third quarter ended Jan. 31 amounted to 37 cents per share, compared with the S&P Capital IQ consensus estimate of 35 cents per share.

EPS increased 9.7% year over year from 34 cents.

Normalized net income, which excludes unusual gains or losses on a pre- and after-tax basis, was $5.2 million, an increase of 7.9% from $4.8 million in the prior-year period.

The normalized profit margin dropped to 9.6% from 10.0% in the year-earlier period.

Total revenue rose 12.5% on an annual basis to $53.6 million from $47.7 million, and total operating expenses grew 13.6% from the prior-year period to $44.7 million from $39.3 million.

Reported net income rose on an annual basis to $4.8 million, or 34 cents per share, from $1.8 million, or 13 cents per share.