Services sling Veritas to steady Q4

Veritas today dealt a mixed bag to investors, reporting that its fourth quarter revenue increased, but that its net income fell 32 per cent.

Veritas posted $574m in sales during the period. This compares to $502m posted in the same period one year earlier. The 14 per cent revenue gain was somewhat offset by a decline in net income. Veritas reported a profit of $129m in this year's fourth quarter, which compares to $191m reported in last year's Q4. This fall off is due to a one-time tax boost of $95m built into last year's Q4.

"As a result of our outstanding fourth quarter performance, we achieved the highest revenue quarter in the company's history and exceeded our $2 billion goal for the year with revenues of $2.042 billion," said Veritas CEO Gary Bloom.

The $2.04bn in revenue for fiscal 2004 was 17 per cent higher than the $1.75bn reported in 2003. For the full year, Veritas posted net income of $411m, which compares to $347m in 2003. In its fourth quarter, Veritas' services business made large gains. It posted revenue of $243m compared to $191m last year. User license fees increased as well from $311m one year ago to $331m.

The company expects to post first quarter revenue between $525m and $540m.

Veritas is currently in the process of being acquired by Symantec, pending standard approvals. Shares were down slightly in after-hours trading at $25.11. ®

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