DATE: Thursday, June 12, 1997               TAG: 9706120442

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   40 lines

JACKSON HEWITT INCOME RISES

Helped by tighter cost controls and more focused marketing, the tax-preparation service Jackson Hewitt Inc. said net income for the fourth quarter ended April 30 rose 28 percent.

The improvement in earnings came in the wake of major changes in the management and operations of the Virginia Beach-based company. Keith E. Alessi, a former executive of the Farm Fresh supermarket chain, was named chief executive officer last July. Company founder and former CEO John Hewitt left the company last fall.

For the February-through-April quarter, Jackson Hewitt reported net income of $7.4 million. That was up from $5.8 million in the comparable three months of fiscal 1996.

Per-share earnings rose to $1.54 from $1.09 in the year-earlier quarter.

``We're very gratified with these results,'' said Alessi.

The company's fourth quarter is important because it coincides with the tax-filing season and generates the bulk of Jackson Hewitt's annual earnings.

Jackson Hewitt, which ranks second in the tax-preparation business behind H&R Block, said the company and its franchisees processed 875,000 tax returns during the latest fiscal year, a 21 percent increase from the year-earlier total.

Jackson Hewitt and its franchisees had1,372 offices open during the recentfiling season.

The company's fourth-quarter revenues climbed to $21.4 million, a 22 percent increasefrom $17.6 million in the February-through-April period of 1996.

For the full year, Jackson Hewitt said its net income doubled while revenues climbed 26 percent.

The company said it earned $5 million despite having an after-tax charge of $1.7 million for the repurchase of warrants from NationsBank, one of its lenders. In fiscal 1996, it earned $2.4 million.

Per-share earnings for fiscal 1997 totaled 95 cents, compared with 40 cents in 1996.

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