Autonomy issues sunny side up forecast

Autonomy expects to see its revenues and profits for 2008 outshine City forecasts.

The Cambridge-based firm said in an upbeat trading statement yesterday that despite the current economic doom and gloom rumbling through the High Street and hitting manufacturing, it had “outperformed the company’s expectations”.

Autonomy founder Mike Lynch said the software maker had also successfully swerved the “negative effects on revenues of foreign exchange movements in the fourth quarter”.

It now expects to see sales to be above the $502.3m (£330m) City prediction for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2008 off the back of brisk demand for its search and discovery software. Fully diluted adjusted earnings per share should be above the consensus forecast of $0.64.

Shares in Autonomy, which rejoined the FTSE 100 in September, closed up 71 pence at £10.52 last night on the London Stock Exchange following the company’s bullish prelims announcement. ®