Learning Tree Shares Off 26%

Learning Tree International Inc. shares fell 26% on Tuesday after the Los Angeles company said it was eliminating a one-day conference program, which will affect profit for its fiscal fourth and first quarters.

Shares of the computer training services company fell $9.13 to close at $25.50 on Nasdaq.

In a conference call late Monday, the company said costs from its Power Seminar program--introduced earlier this year in a departure from its traditional four- to five-day courses--have extended into the first quarter ending Dec. 31 and are expected to lower profit for the period.

Learning Tree first warned analysts that profit in its fourth quarter ended Sept. 30 would be affected when it reported third-quarter earnings in early August of 14 cents per share, compared with 17 cents a year earlier.

While Learning Tree didn’t say how its fourth-quarter profit would be affected, it said revenue will be in line with analysts’ expectations.

“Management should have taken a more deliberate approach in testing the Power Seminar business,” said Mike Sabbann, an analyst at Piper Jaffray Inc. “They attempted to roll it out on a fairly large scale and found that it didn’t work.”

Chairman and Chief Executive David Collins said the one-day seminars “have not achieved a level sufficient to warrant continued investment.”