MOUNTAIN VIEW (dpa-AFX) - Security software maker Symantec Corp. (SYMC) said Thursday after the markets closed that its fourth quarter profit rose 14% from last year, as better cost control helped offset a 7% decline in revenue.
The company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, also came in above analysts' expectations, and its quarterly revenue came in line with analysts' forecast. At the same time, the company gave a downbeat earnings forecast for the current quarter.
'Our fourth quarter results, led by better performance from our sales teams and cost reductions, demonstrate the underlying health of our business,' said Michael Brown, Symantec interim president and chief executive officer. 'In the new leadership team's first 40 days, we've taken important steps to accelerate the pace of our transformation.'
Symantec shares are currently gaining 2.09% in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at $20.13, down 9 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $17.95 to $27.10.
Symantec has a relatively new leadership team. Brown was elected as the company's interim President and Chief Executive Officer in March, replacing Steve Bennett who was terminated from the company. Earlier that month, the company announced the appointment of Thomas Seifert as chief financial officer.
For the fourth quarter ended March 28, 2014, the company reported net income of $217 million or $0.31 per share, compared to $190 million or $0.27 per share for the year-ago quarter.
Excluding items, adjusted net income for the fourth quarter was $329 million or $0.47 per share, compared to $316 million or $0.44 per share in the prior year quarter.
On average, 26 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.42 per share for the fourth quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Operating margin for the quarter improved to 18.8% from 14.6% a year ago, while adjusted operating margin increased to 27.3% from 24.1% last year.
The maker of Norton anti-virus software said net revenue for the fourth quarter fell 7% to $1.63 billion from $1.75 billion in the same quarter last year. Adjusted net revenue for the latest quarter was $1.65 billion. Twenty-two analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $1.65 billion for the fourth quarter.
During the fourth quarter, Symantec repurchased 5.5 million shares of its common stock for $125 million, and at the end of the quarter, it had $558 million remaining for future repurchases in the current board authorized stock repurchase plan.
Looking forward to the first quarter, the company forecasts revenue of $1.65 to $1.69 billion, earnings of $0.31 to $0.33 per share and adjusted earnings of $0.41 to $0.43 per share. Analysts currently expect the company to earn $0.43 on revenue of $1.64 billion for the first quarter.
For the fiscal year 2015, the company forecasts revenue of $6.63 to $6.77 billion, earnings of $1.43 to $1.51 per share and adjusted earnings of $1.84 to $1.92 per share. Analysts currently expect the company to earn $1.83 per share on revenue of $6.66 billion for the fiscal year 2015.
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