Bookings Growth Boosts CA Shares

SAN FRANCISCO - CA(CA Quote - Cramer on CA - Stock Picks) missed fourth-quarter earnings expectations due to a special tax charge, but investors were pleased by solid bookings growth, which boosted the company's full-year guidance.

Shares in the Islandia, N.Y., software company were up $1.27, or 5.3%, to $25.44 in extended trading after the company's forecast topped the Street's expectations.

Bookings rose 30% year over year to $1.47 billion, prompting the company to issue strong projections for 2009, CFO Nancy Cooper said on the conference call.

For fiscal 2009, the company projected revenue of $4.5 billion to $4.6 billion and EPS, less items, of $1.45 to $1.52. Analysts were expecting revenue of $4.42 billion and EPS, excluding items, of $1.32.

For the fourth quarter, CA posted revenue $1.09 billion, up 8% from $1.01 billion for the same quarter of 2007. The consensus estimate of analysts was $1.09 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Net income was $71 million, or 13 cents a share, vs. a loss of $20 million, or 4 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Excluding special items, EPS was 22 cents. Analysts were looking for 28 cents. The company took a special tax charge during the fourth quarter that hurt EPS by 6 cents, giving the company a tax rate of 52.6% for the period, vs. guidance for a 36% rate, Cooper said.

The tax assessment was the first move of a new specialist hired in December who is expected to bring a more tax-efficient approach to operations, Cooper said. "We're subject to income taxes in a number of jurisdictions." The company is moving away from country-based offices to regional centers, giving CA the ability to base in locales with lower costs.

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