UPDATE 1-American Public Education Q1 profit tops Street

* Posts Q1 results above expectations

* Sees Q2 shr $0.25-$0.27 vs est $0.26 * Sees 2009 shr
$1.19-$1.26 vs est $1.21

May 7 (Reuters) - Education provider American Public
Education Inc (APEI.O: Quote, Profile, Research) posted better-than-expected quarterly
results, helped by a spurt in course registrations.

The company earned $5.2 million, or 28 cents a share, on
revenue of $33.2 million in the first quarter. Analysts were
expecting earnings of 25 cents a share, on revenue of $32.8
million, according to Reuters Estimates.

Net course registrations from new students in the first
quarter rose 40 percent to about 10,500.

The company expects second-quarter net course registrations
from new students to be about 11,350.

It forecast second-quarter earnings of 25 cents to 27 cents
a share, on revenue of $33.8 million to $35 million.

For 2009, the company forecast earnings of $1.19 to $1.26 a
share, on revenue of $147 million to $151 million.

Shares of the company closed at $34.12 Thursday on Nasdaq.

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(Reporting by Amulya Nagaraj in Bangalore; Editing by Ratul
Ray Chaudhuri)