Business Objects Tops Estimates, Warns of Coming Shortfall

The software maker beats analyst estimates by a penny but sees a shortfall next quarter.

Author:: Michael Dunn
Publish date:: Apr 18, 2002 8:02 AM EDT

Business Objects

(BOBJ)

posted first-quarter revenue and EPS growth, but the company warned that it will miss second-quarter and full-year estimates.

The business intelligence solutions provider said its first-quarter net income beat analyst estimates, coming in at $11.0 million, or 17 cents a share, compared with $10.5 million, or 16 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call had been expecting to see 16 cents a share.

The company's revenue grew 9% to $107.5 million from $98.3 million a year ago, but still fell short of First Call estimates of $108.36 million.

In a press release, the company said that its license revenue grew by 4%, compared with declines in license revenue by competitors, showing Business Objects continued to gain market share in the quarter. The company added 558 new customers in the quarter.

For the rest of the year, the company cautioned that it would not meet analyst estimates. For the second quarter, Business Objects said it expects to see EPS of 16 cents to 17 cents on revenue of $108 million to $110 million, versus the First Call consensus estimates of 19 cents on revenue of $115.95 million. For the full year, the company expects EPS of 74 cents to 77 cents on revenue of $455 million to $465 million, also below Wall Street's estimates of 79 cents on revenue of $470.86 million.

Shares of Business Objects were trading down in premarket action on the news, recently falling 2.8% to $35.91 after closing at $36.95 Wednesday.