Priya Ganapati
SAN FRANCISCO -- Symantec(SYMC Quote - Cramer on SYMC - Stock Picks) beat analysts' expectations for the fourth quarter and offered strong outlook for the current quarter allaying investor fears that a slowdown in the economy could take a toll on spending on IT security.
Net income for the fourth quarter rose to $186 million, or 22 cents a share, vs. $61 million, or 7 cents a share, the year before. Excluding charges, the company reported net income of $309 million, or 36 cents a share, compared with $227 million, or 24 cents a share, a year ago. Analysts had been expecting earnings of 34 cents a share. Revenue rose to $1.54 billion from $1.36 billion the earlier quarter and was slightly higher with analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. Shares of Symantec were up 68 cents, or 3.9%, to $17.85 in recent extended trading. For the quarter, Symantec's storage and server management division, which represents 37%, of the company's total revenue, grew 11% from a year ago. The consumer business, representing 29% of the total revenue, grew 10% from a year ago and the security and compliance segment grew 21%. The services unit grew 12%. International revenues represented 53% of total revenue in the quarter and grew 15% from a year ago. For the June 2008 quarter, Symantec guided revenue in the range of $1.55 billion and $1.59 billion. Excluding charges, earnings are expected to range between 34 cents and 36 cents a share.
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