Symantec posts strong quarter

Symantec yesterday posted bumper earnings on the back of recent viral epidemics that have boosted demand for its security software and services. For the quarter ending 31 December 2004 (Q3 2005), Symantec posted revenue of $695m, up 41 per cent from $494m in the same quarter last year. Net income for Q3 2005 was $164m, compared to $111m in Q3 2004.

Symantec said its "record revenue and earnings" came as a result of large enterprise transactions and strong international performance across all business segments. It booked 410 $100K+ deals for the quarter, 132 more then in Q3 2004. Symantec's worldwide enterprise business made up 48 per cent of total revenue last quarter and grew 33 per cent year-over-year. Meanwhile its consumer business grew 49 per cent. International revenues represented 54 percent of Symantec's total sales for Q3 2005.

Looking ahead, Symantec estimates Q4 2005 revenues to come in at between $690m-$710m. For FY2005, Symantec upped its revenue estimate to $2.57bn.

Symantec and storage software firm Veritas agreed to merge in December. The proposed $13.5bn all-stock is still dependent on shareholder and regulatory approvals. If the deal goes through the aggregate revenue of the combined company is expected to be approximately $5bn for FY2006, which begins in April 2005 and ends in March 2006. ®

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