McAfee Soars on Strong Sales

SAN FRANCISCO - McAfee(MFE) soared past analysts' expectations for the second quarter on strong sales of its IT security products and offered an outlook that was in line with analysts' expectations.

McAfee also said it will buy privately owned data loss prevention company Reconnex for $46 million in cash. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2008.

Net income for the second quarter was $47.8 million, or 30 cents a share, vs. net income of $48 million, or 29 cents a share, the year before.

Excluding charges, the company posted earnings of $83.8 million, or 52 cents a share, compared with earnings of $67.8 million, or 41 cents a share, a year ago. On that basis, it beat consensus earnings estimates of 45 cents a share.

Revenue grew 26% to $396.8 million, compared with $314.8 million a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters are expecting revenue of $369.1 million.

Shares of McAfee closed up $1.20, or 3.7%, to $33.48.

Revenue from the consumer business in the second quarter grew 18% to $157 million. International revenue grew 27% to $193 million, said McAfee.

For the third quarter, McAfee expects revenue of $390 million to $400 million. Excluding charges it expects earnings of 46 cents to 50 cents a share. Analysts were looking for revenue of $373.02 million and earnings of 48 cents a share.

For the full year, the company guided revenue in the range of $1.53 billion to $1.58 billion and EPS, excluding items, in the range of $1.90 to $2 a share. Analysts are looking for revenue of $1.5 billion and earnings of $1.91 a share.