The maker of Norton security software said net income in its fiscal third quarter rose to $132 million, or 15 cents per diluted share, from $117 million, or 12 cents per share, a year earlier.
SEATTLE (Reuters) - Security software maker Symantec Corp <SYMC.O> reported a rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday, boosted by overseas sales, and forecast current-quarter results above Wall Street estimates, sending its shares up 9 percent.
The maker of Norton security software said net income in its fiscal third quarter rose to $132 million, or 15 cents per diluted share, from $117 million, or 12 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue, excluding the impact of acquisitions and the expensing of stock options, rose 15 percent to $1.53 billion in the December quarter.
Excluding items, Symantec earned 33 cents per share. Analysts, on average, had looked for 29 cents a share excluding items on revenue of $1.45 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
!ADVERTISEMENT!"Investors are breathing a sigh of relief. The company's back was against the wall and they delivered with a nice quarter. It restored investor credibility," said Daniel Ives, an analyst with Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co Inc.
Symantec's operating profit had declined for two consecutive quarters before a 23 percent rise in operating profit in the most recent quarter.
Symantec beat Wall Street expectations in the face of concerns expressed by Chief Executive John Thompson three months ago that U.S. economic problems would hurt Norton sales.
The company was helped by 21 percent growth in international revenue, which accounts for more than half the total. North America and Latin America revenue rose 8 percent.
"I'm confident of our business and are building momentum as we head into our fiscal fourth quarter," Thompson said on a conference call with analysts.
"While we can't forecast the economic environment, we are confident in the strength of our product portfolio," he said.
Symantec, based in Cupertino, California, forecast fourth-quarter earnings of 33 cents to 35 cents per share before items on revenue of $1.51 billion to $1.55 billion.
Wall Street had expected earnings of 30 cents per share on revenue of $1.49 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
For the full year, Symantec sees earnings excluding items ranging between $1.24 and $1.26 per share on revenue of $5.90 billion to $5.94 billion.
By comparison, analysts, on average, were looking for profit of $1.17 per share in fiscal 2008 on revenue of $5.8 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
Symantec said it is performing a review of its portfolio of businesses and that may lead to more divestitures like its announcement last week to sell its application performance management business to Vector Capital.
"We expect to eliminate or harvest lower-growth businesses or products with lower operating returns than we think is appropriate for our company," said Thompson, noting Symantec will look for acquisitions in higher-growth areas.
Shares of Symantec rose to $16.66 in after-hours trading after closing at $15.26, up 1.6 percent on the Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Daisuke Wakabayashi; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Braden Reddall)
