McAfee Beats Estimates

Updated from 4:51 p.m. EST

McAfee(MFE Quote), after issuing fourth-quarter earnings, said that the special committee reviewing its stock option practices has completed its investigation and has turned it over to management for review and certification by auditors.

The investigation should be complete this year, said Dale Fuller, McAfee interim CEO and President. McAfee has already estimated a pretax cost of $100 million to $150 million as restatement charges.

The No. 2 IT security company, after Symantec, also said it is likely to announce a new CEO for the company in the next few months.

In the wake of the options investigation, McAfee's previous CEO George Samenuk resigned in October , after six years at the company's the helm.

"We are down to a short list of probably six or seven candidates for the position, and I think we're getting there very quickly," Fuller told analysts during an earnings conference call late Thursday.

Though the company attributes its fourth-quarter profit drop to the stock options charges, it beat analysts' earnings and revenue estimates.

McAfee said net income for the quarter fell to $35 million, or 21 cents a share, from $38.6 million, or 23 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, McAfee earned 36 cents a share, beating Thomson Financial expectations of 34 cents a share.

Revenue grew to $305.2 million from $253.4 million, beating analysts' expectations of $290.7 million.

Shares of McAfee were off 12 cents, or 0.4%, to $29.50 in extended trading.