National Research Corporation Announces Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2010 Results

National Research Corporation (NASDAQ:NRCI) today announced results for the fourth quarter and year-end 2010.

Fourth Quarter:

• Revenue $15.9 million up 15%
• Net income $1.6 million down 30%
• Diluted earnings per share $0.23 down 30%
• Net new contracts signed reached $5.1 million, up 80%

Year-end 2010

• Revenue $63.4 million up 10%
• Net income $8.5 million; diluted earnings per share $1.26
• Net new contracts signed up 80%; total contract value up 22%

Commenting on the fourth quarter results, Michael D. Hays, president and chief executive officer of National Research Corporation, said, "We accelerated our investment in growth opportunities during the fourth quarter in light of favorable conditions for Illuminate and our new subscription-based offerings from NRC Picker, The Governance Institute and My InnerView. We also continued sales force expansion. The returns from these investments are continuing to materialize in the form of increased sales and sustainable points of differentiation in the marketplace.”

Revenue for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, increased 15% to $15.9 million, compared to $13.8 million for the same period in 2009. Net income for the fourth quarter was $1.6 million or $0.24 basic and $0.23 diluted earnings per share, compared with net income of $2.2 million or $0.34 basic and $0.33 diluted earnings per share, in the prior year period.

Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2010, was $63.4 million, compared to $57.7 million for the same period in 2009, an increase of 10%. Net income for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, was $8.5 million or $1.28 basic and $1.26 diluted earnings per share.

In closing, Patrick E. Beans, chief financial officer of National Research Corporation, said, "The Company clearly diverted from historical patterns by reinvesting all its incremental earnings for the full year 2010 over 2009. To provide visibility related to the anticipated return on these investments, today we are announcing earnings guidance of $1.65 per dilutive share for the year ending December 31, 2011.”

The Company’s Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.22 (twenty-two cents) per share, an increase of 16% over the prior quarter, payable March 31, 2011, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 4, 2011.

A listen-only simulcast of National Research Corporation’s 2010 fourth quarter and year-end conference call will be available online at www.earnings.com on February 9, 2011, beginning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time. The online replay will follow approximately one hour later and continue for 30 days.

National Research Corporation, headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, is a leading provider of performance measurement, improvement services, and governance education to the healthcare industry in the United States and Canada.

This press release includes "forward-looking” statements related to the Company that can generally be identified as describing the Company’s future plans, objectives or goals. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those currently anticipated. These forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For further information about the factors that could affect the Company’s future results, please see the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.