Intuit's Loss Widens

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Tax preparation and personal finance-software maker Intuit(INTU Quote) on Wednesday said its fiscal first-quarter loss more than doubled, as it lost the income of a business it sold last year, but per-share results beat Wall Street expectations.

The company also cut its guidance for the year, and shares wobbled in aftermarket trading.

For the three months ended Oct. 31, Intuit reported a loss of $52.1 million, or 16 cents per share, compared with a loss of $20.8 million, or 6 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

In the year-ago quarter, the company booked a loss from continuing operations -- which excludes results from businesses that have been, or are in the process of being sold -- of $47.6 million, or a loss of 14 cents per share.

Adjusted for various items, the company said its loss in the latest quarter narrowed to 9 cents per share, from 10 cents per share in last year.

Intuit typically posts a loss in its fiscal first quarter, when there is little revenue from its tax business.

Revenue rose 8% to $481.4 million, from $444.9 million a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected an adjusted loss of 12 cents per share on revenue of $483.4 million.

In the year-ago period, Intuit's results were bolstered by income from its distribution management business, which it sold in August 2007.

Intuit said sales of its QuickBooks products rose 6% from a year ago, to $152 million, while its payroll and payments segment saw revenue jump 16% to $152 million. Its consumer tax products revenue gained 7% to $14 million, while its professional accounting unit saw a 16% jump in revenue to $21 million.